Chuck vs the Unexpected
by Charahfan44
Summary: When a teenager shows up in Chuck's life, the surgeon finds out that his ex, Sarah Walker, had his child fifteen years ago. Will this bring them back together or create a bigger chasm between the two? Completely AU. I do not own Chuck!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! I know that I have a few other popular stories out there, and I promise you I'm working them, but sometimes my creative juices just flow and flow and flow, causing me to create more for you all. I've been watching this show called Life Unexpected on Netflix, and if you aren't familiar with it you should be. I thought of this idea with our favorite Chuck characters and a bit of a different storyline, but the same premise. I hope you will read, it'll be a good one! I love writing AU, just because it's fun to see how different the characters can be in a different world. Enjoy!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Sarah Walker awoke easily, breathing in deeply and stretching her arms out. The weekends were the perfect time for her to relax and figure out what the upcoming week would entail.

"Thank god you have today off." The voice of her boyfriend, Bryce Larkin, interrupted her moment of peace.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to stay home. I mean, am I one hundred percent sure that Johnson can take my surgeries without killing anyone?" She responded, sitting up and throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. Sarah and Bryce were two of California's top surgeons. Sarah had chosen Cardio as her specialty of choice, as Bryce went with Orthopedics.

"Johnson will be fine. We'll just stay in bed all day and not worry about a thing." He pulled her back into the bed, putting his lips on hers.

"Fine," She kissed him back with a smile, "But I get to call in at least three times." She completely exited the bed this time, knowing full well that he would keep her if she didn't. Bryce stared at his girlfriend in wonder, loving the way his white button up looked on her, his favorite pink "booty shorts" (as he liked to call them) standing out underneath the bottom portion of the shirt.

"You're the devil!" He called as she left the room. Her head popped back in for a moment, as Sarah Walker always had to have the last word.

"Oh trust me, I know." She winked. The two shared a decent-sized loft in the city, not too fancy but a good place for two. They had been together for about four years, living together for two. As Sarah made her way to the kitchen, she pondered the life she had. A college degree from Harvard, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect job, nothing in her life could bring her down. She usually made an English muffin and some fruit for breakfast, but this particular morning she was feeling pancakes. "You know what, screw paperwork." She said aloud. She never let her personal life come before her work, but she felt as though Bryce was drifting further and further away. She was one of the most diverse women on the planet, as she was a surgeon, she could dance, and her cooking skills were beyond that of the average housewife. It only took her ten minutes to whip up the perfect pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit for her partner in crime.

"Breakfast in bed? You must've done something wrong." Bryce smirked as Sarah re-entered the room.

"Or I just wanted to be amazing for once." She set the tray of food down on top of his stomach, resting her legs on either side of him as she seductively climbing on top of him.

"You know, this really isn't fair. You shouldn't be teasing me if you're going to work." He playfully whined.

"I thought we just talked about my day off?" Sarah planted a soft kiss on his lips, careful not to spill the tray of food.

"Sarah Walker, not going into work anyway? Is this an episode of Punk'd?" Bryce mocked looking around for hidden cameras.

"Oh please, I know how to take a personal day." She frowned.

"Really? And when was the last time you took one of those?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Just shut up and eat your breakfast. You're going to need all of your energy today."

"And why is that?"

"Because we aren't leaving this bed. Bryce Larkin, are you prepared to spend all day in bed with me?"

"I am." He smiled. "Sarah Walker, are you prepared to stay in bed all day with me?"

"I am." She smiled in return. The two shared the food in front of them, looking forward to the completely uneventful day ahead.

* * *

"You can't say anything, Gracie." Sydney McAllister said to the five-year-old next to her. Cloudyvale's Home for Girls had been Sydney's permanent residence from birth, as her birth parents had given her up when she was born.

"But where are you going?" Gracie asked.

"I have my father's name, I saw it on my file. I'm going to find him, and hopefully my mom." She said confidently, packing her things in a hurry.

"Will you come back?"

"No you dummy, that's the point of running away."

"Can I come?"

"No Gracie. Look, I'll come back for you okay? But you have to stay here and tell Ms. Lucille that you don't know where I went."

"But that's lying…"

"Do you want me to come back or not?"

"How do you even know if your parents will sign the forms?" The kid was smarter than she was supposed to be at five years old.

"I don't, but it sure beats staying here."

"But you're my best friend."

"I know, and you're mine, but I can't be here anymore. I need to get out of here, Grace. And my parents are the only ones who can do that." She snuck out the front door easily, as Ms. Lucille was the heaviest sleeper on the planet. Collecting spare change around the home for many years, Sydney had finally saved up enough to effortlessly afford a cab and hotel for the night.

"Where to, young lady?" The cab driver asked, throwing an odd look her way.

"The nicest hotel closest to the city." She responded. Butterflies entered her stomach as she drove away from the girls' home. The one thing she had wanted since the age of four was to find her birth parents, and her dream was finally about to come true.

* * *

Becoming a surgeon had always been Chuck Bartowski's plan. His father, Stephen Bartowski, had been one of the world's greatest general surgeons, creating the infamous Bartowski Method that many doctors used nowadays. He certainly had never thought about the early hours as a child, but had gotten used to them through his intern years. This morning was just like the rest, full of patients and procedures to go through. Chuck hadn't been at SoCal General Hospital for more than two years, picking it after finding out that his ex was the head of Cardio thoracic surgery at Los Angeles Hope. His contract had been up in Kansas, and he wanted to start somewhere fresh, with the warmth contributing to his decision greatly. He didn't know that Sarah had moved out to California, and he wasn't sure it was a good thing that he knew now. They had a pretty rough past, neither of them really wanting to give each other up. But with finishing med school and going through their internships, it wouldn't have worked out anyway. Chuck always figured that if they were both available and were to somehow meet again, they would have a second chance.

"Dude! Check this out." Chuck's best friend Morgan bounded up to him, thrusting a chart into Chuck's face.

"What the heck is that?" Chuck squinted at the picture on the top of the chart.

"A parasite." Morgan smiled slyly.

"Okay?"

"I'm going to remove it." Morgan put his hand up for a high-five, and Chuck had learned not to leave him hanging.

"It's wrapped around all of the intestines, Morgan. Isn't that a bit risky?"

"Exactly, that's why I'm the best!" Morgan left Chuck standing at the desk on the pediatric floor, which had been Chuck's specialty since his first pedes case three years ago. He had thought a lot about choosing General Surgery as his father had mastered it, but chose Pediatric Surgery when he realized that he would be saving the lives of people's children and reason for living.

"Thinking a little too hard today, aren't ya?" Ellie Woodcomb wasn't only Chuck's sister, but his other best friend as well. She had chosen Neuro Surgery, while her husband Devon was the Cardio master of SoCal Gen.

"You know me." He smiled.

"How's everything with Lou?"

"Great actually. She's amazing, and not only because she's the best Orthopedic Surgeon here…" He trailed with a slight chuckle.

"Just don't screw this one up." Ellie teased.

"You know, I don't think she'd let me if I tried."

"Who wouldn't what?" A vibrant looking Lou walked up to the siblings, carrying two coffees. "Sorry, Ellie. I would've brought you one if I knew you were here."

"Nah, it's okay. Devon and I got one this morning." She smiled. "Have a good day." She walked away as quickly as she had appeared. Chuck looked to his girlfriend and kissed her warmly.

"Well hello to you too." Lou chuckled slightly.

"How was your night?"

"Perfect, I didn't spend it alone."

"Oh really? Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Actually yes. I'm telling you that we should spend every night in the on-call room." Lou stood up on her toes and kissed him back, not worrying about the people around them.

"Wow, if it means free coffee and morning kisses like this, I'm all in."

"Mr. Bartowski, there's someone at the front desk in the lobby asking for you." The nurse behind the desk coughed subtly and interrupted his conversation with Lou.

"My schedule is full today, Susan."

"She says it's an emergency and asked for you specifically." Susan shrugged.

"I'll come find you later?" He looked to Lou.

"Yeah, I'll be here." She smiled again and kissed him quickly, walking away.

* * *

The hospital was huge. Sydney had been to a hospital only once in her life, two years ago when she broke her leg jumping off of the swings at the park near Cloudyvale.

"Mr. Bartowski is on his way down, you can have a seat." The woman behind the counter interrupted her thoughts.

"Thanks." Was her short reply. What if he hated her? Or didn't believe her and sent her away? Sydney didn't necessarily need her parents to take her in, she just wanted questions answered and needed their signatures in order to become emancipated from the foster system.

"Hey, someone is looking for me?" Chuck walked up to the desk, and Sydney noticed their similarities almost instantly. The same mouth and nose for sure, she knew the moment she saw him that he was her biological father.

"That blonde girl over there." The woman pointed to Sydney, and Chuck froze. He was looking straight at a miniature Sarah Walker.

"Uh, can I…help you?" He stumbled.

"Yeah, I kinda need you to sign something for me." She responded with confidence.

"Do I know you?" He stared.

"I don't think so. I mean, unless you call giving me up for adoption knowing me." She sassed.

"Adoption?"

"Yeah, I'm your biological daughter."

"I'm sorry, my what?"

"Daughter."

"Okay, yeah I got that." He sat down slowly.

"I need your signature in order to be emancipated from my girls' home. I'm going to live on my own."

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"And you think you can live on your own?"

"People my age do it all the time. Look, I just need your signature." She grabbed a piece of paper out of her backpack and handed it to him. "Oh, and also if you could figure out who you slept with fifteen years ago, that would be great."

"Sarah Walker. That's your mom." He said, without hesitation. He quickly signed the paper after the girl shot him a weird look.

"Thanks."

"Yeah." Chuck had no clue what to say. What the heck do you say to an abandoned teen? "What's your name?"

"Sydney."

"Did Sarah give you that name?"

"What kind of a question is that? She gave me up, obviously she didn't name me."

"Oh, right." He felt himself turning red.

"Do you know where she is?"

"Los Angeles Hope. It's not too far from here, maybe twenty minutes."

"Cool, thanks." Sydney stood up and walked away. Chuck sat there for a brief second before jumping out of his seat and catching up to the girl.

"Wait, let me take you. Maybe she'll be less shocked with a familiar face around."

"If you say so." The two exited the hospital and made their way to Chuck's car. It wasn't anything fancy, just a normal sized Honda Accord. The ride in it wasn't fancy either, as Chuck had no clue how to make a conversation with a surprise kid.

"So uh, you go to school?"

"Yeah?"

"Right, of course you do. How is that?"

"Fine."

"Do you get good grades?"

"I guess."

"And you're in a girls' home?"

"Yup."

"Do you maybe want to actually have a conversation?"

"Look, Chuck is it? I really just want this next signature. So spare me the small talk and awkward conversations because I don't need them."

"My god you sound like Sarah." He shook his head slightly.

"I don't think that's a compliment."

"You look like her too, you know. So much like her. The hair, the way you carry yourself…the eyes." The last part escaped his mouth softly.

"Everyone talks to me about my eyes." Sydney laughed.

"It's hard to find that blue anywhere else. I used to tell Sarah that she stole the color straight from the sky, which is probably why it's a little more dull now."

"I'm assuming you guys aren't together?"

"Me and Sarah? No. We split up sixteen years go."

"A year before I was born?"

"More like nine months."

"Guess I was wrong about the kind of guy you are. How could you leave a pregnant woman alone?"

"Oh look, we're here." Chuck avoided the question completely.

* * *

"I have to speak to Sarah Walker, it's important." Chuck pleaded with the nurse at the front desk of Los Angeles Hope Hospital.

"Doctor Walker is in surgery right now, I'm sorry."

"You a friend of Sarah's?" A good looking man came over to Chuck and Sydney.

"Uh, sort of." Chuck replied.

"Are you a doctor?" The man pointed to Chuck's scrubs.

"Yeah, I'm over at SoCal General. Doctor Chuck Bartowski." Chuck stuck out his hand.

"Bryce Larkin." The man responded, taking Chuck's hand.

"And I'm here to talk to Sarah." Sydney jumped into the conversation.

"Have we met before?" Bryce stared at the teen.

"Will everyone stop asking me that?"

"Sorry, you just look like…"

"Sarah." Chuck finished. "This is Sarah's daughter. Well, my daughter too actually."

"Daughter?"

"Yeah, don't choke buddy. Look, I need a signature from her, so could you go ask for it or something?" Sydney asked.

"You sound just like her." Bryce stared in amazement.

"I don't care what I look or sound like, I just need the signature!" Sydney erupted, not wanting to hear any more about the similarities between her and the woman who gave her up.

"Sorry. I can see if she'll come out of surgery, but that's not really like her. You could be here a while."

"Well then I guess I'm waiting." Sydney sat down forcefully, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'll be back." Bryce looked to the father and daughter. Why hadn't Sarah mentioned this? It wasn't really something to bring up on a first date, but at some point she should've trusted him enough to tell him that she gave up a kid. His trek up to the fifth floor was slow, as he wasn't sure he wanted to interrupt an emergency surgery. The day off they had hoped for was crushed when one of Sarah's patients went into cardiac arrest and needed an emergency triple bypass procedure.

"Larkin, where are you going? Not going into Walker's OR?" Doctor John Casey put a hand on Bryce's chest as he inched closer to the OR door.

"It's important, John." Bryce responded. John Casey and Bryce Larkin weren't exactly friends. The more experienced Orthopedic surgeon was the head of the department, and made sure Bryce's life was always miserable.

"Important or not, your girlfriend is inside someone's chest."

"I know." Bryce shouldered passed his superior, entering the operating room anyway. He grabbed a mask and held it over his face as he entered.

"How's everything in here?" He asked subtly. Sarah looked up from her patient for an extremely brief second, looking back down just as fast.

"What the hell are you doing in my OR?" She snapped.

"I have to talk to you when you're done."

"Great. That wouldn't be now, so get out."

"How much longer?"

"I guess you'll find out."

"Sarah," His voice took a darker turn than normal, causing Sarah to really look at him, "How much longer?" He repeated.

"I'd guess an hour tops." She knew something wasn't right. Bryce knew better than to enter her operating rooms in the first place, let alone ask how long a surgery would take. This obviously had to be something more than a mid-afternoon hook-up idea.

"Okay." He nodded slightly, exiting the surgery. Sarah didn't have time to think about what the reason for his interruption could be, but she was sure she would be finding out very soon. She went as fast as she could through the surgery, making sure to do everything properly. She had a resident close, as it was minor and easy. Bryce was waiting outside of the room when she exited, looking stressed and nervous.

"What was that about?" She demanded in true Sarah Walker fashion.

"Why didn't you tell me that you have a kid?" He blurted. Sarah froze.

"What?"

"You heard what I said, Sarah."

"I've never told anyone I had a kid." She whispered.

"Well, she's here. With someone named Chuck?" Bryce said.

"Chuck? He's here?" Sarah asked worriedly.

"So is your kid."

"Why? How did they even know I was here?"

"Maybe you should ask them that."

"I can't talk to them."

"Sarah."

"No, Bryce. You don't understand…"

"You better go down there and at least say something. Your daughter needs your signature." Bryce walked away after the last word, leaving Sarah to stand outside of the OR in silence.

* * *

Sarah knew that Sydney was her daughter the second she saw her. She felt as though she was looking at a younger version of herself. She stood across the lobby, watching the teen cross her legs and flick her ankle in irritation. She started towards her daughter when Chuck's face entered her line of vision. Sarah caught her breath, feeling the same way she did all those years ago. Composing herself, she walked up to the two.

"You needed me?" She looked to Chuck. His chocolate brown eyes softened as he looked into hers.

"Not me, her. Sydney, our daughter." He signaled to the young blonde sitting in the chair next to him.

"I just need a signature." Sydney stumbled over her words, noticing the similarities everyone talked about.

"For what?"

"I'm getting emancipated."

"From your parents?"

"From the girl's home I'm living in. I don't have parents." She emphasized the last part.

"You were never adopted?" Sarah frowned.

"Doesn't look that way, does it?"

"But the social worker said-"

"The social worker lied. Can you please just sign this?" Sydney handed her the paper.

"Yeah." Sarah responded softly. She took the paper and grabbed a pen from the pocket of her white coat. She signed the paper quickly, handing it back.

"Thanks." Sydney gave her short nod.

"Of course."

"Okay, well, I'll take you back to wherever it is you need to go back to." Chuck broke the moment of silence between the two.

"Whatever." Sydney walked away. Chuck looked to Sarah before following his daughter.

"How could you not tell me?"

"I don't know." Both of their faces saddened.

"I know we had our problems, but really? You couldn't even tell me that you were pregnant?"

"I didn't know until after you left."

"Don't give me that excuse, Sarah. You're a doctor."

"I'm sorry, Chuck. I am."

"Sorry doesn't really do me any good, does it?" He shook his head and caught up with Sydney. Sarah hadn't meant for any of this to happen. She thought that Sydney would've gone to a nice family without questions of where she originally came from.

"Hey," Her thoughts were interjected by Sydney's voice, "I have a question for you." The teen had turned around before completely leaving the hospital, Chuck staying outside the entrance.

"Anything."

"You have a really good paying job, I'm sure you have a place to live, and I know that you're probably not drowning in debt which means you come from a wealthy family just like Chuck. So why didn't you want me?" Sydney held back the lump in her throat.

"I did want you," Sarah held back her own tears, "But I couldn't. It's one of those cliché stories of how I wanted a better life for you than two parents going through surgical internships and eventually becoming so busy that they don't have time for a normal life. I wanted to keep you, I promise you that."

"I didn't have a better life. I had a really crappy life."

"I'm so sorry, Sydney."

"Me too." The teen turned around and walked away once more, leaving the hospital completely.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck was conversation-less again on the way to Sydney's destination, and he wasn't quite sure where her destination even was. He would occasionally glance over at her, noticing the way she longingly stared out the window.

"Stupid question, but have you ever been out of California?" He asked.

"Nope." Was the minimal response.

"If you could pick one place to visit, where would it be?"

"I don't know."

"Seriously? You haven't ever thought about a vacation?"

"I have."

"Well okay then. Where would it be?"

"Probably the Bahamas."

"Really?"

"Hey, I'm telling you my dream vacation and you're making fun of me?" He caught a glimpse of a smile.

"I'm not making fun of you, I was just expecting Disneyland or something."

"You were expecting a cliché."

"Maybe." He chuckled.

"Here it is," Sydney pointed to a Motel 6, "Just there on the left."

"You're staying in a motel?"

"Well my hearing is tomorrow and if I go back to Cloudyvale, I won't be able to get out again. I swear, if the judge doesn't see me fit for emancipation I'm going to run away altogether."

"How exactly are you paying for a room?"

"I hate to break it to you, Charlie, but I'm not stealing one."

"I didn't say that."

"Please. A fifteen-year-old with enough money to rent a hotel without having a job?"

"So you are stealing a room?"

"Totally. Especially without a room key." Sydney rolled her eyes.

"You haven't answered my question."

"I've saved every penny I found in Cloudyvale, or from people who drop money when they come to visit, or when we go out in town. I have about four thousand dollars."

"And you're wasting it on a hotel when you can just stay with family for free?"

"What family?"

"Me, I'm family."

"I'll stick with the motel." She opened the car door and stepped out. "Thanks for the ride though."

"I hope you know that I'll be back later." He called through the opened window of the now closed car door. She wasn't getting rid of him that easily.

* * *

Sarah couldn't work after meeting Sydney for the first time in fifteen years. It wasn't just her emotional or mental side that wasn't functioning properly, it was her entire body. Her arms and legs were frozen to the bottom bunk in the third floor on-call room. She and Bryce had deemed this their on-call room, as it was the one they most frequently used for their daily hookups.

"Knock knock." A sympathetic brunette entered cautiously.

"Hey, Z." Sarah looked to the door, noticing her best friend enter.

"Bryce told me what happened." Zondra Mason had been one of Sarah's best friends since their internship, making sure she always had someone to look out for and talk to. "I still can't believe you didn't tell him."

"You didn't tell him you already knew, did you?"

"No. Especially not that I helped you through everything." She laid down next to Sarah and sighed.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"What you should've done fifteen years ago."

"I couldn't have kept her even if I tried. I wouldn't be here if I had, you know that."

"You may not have been here, Sarah, but you would've had a kid who loved you and looked up to you. I know you aren't the mommy type, but I think there's a reason she found you."

"She's getting emancipated anyway."

"Well maybe it's your job to stop her from doing that."

"Oh yeah, just show up after all this time and expect her to let me in? You should've seen the way she looked at me."

"She's not really supposed to like you, Sarah. You gave her away, abandoned her."

"Thank you." Sarah responded bluntly.

"Hey, I'm just saying. Maybe this is your chance to do what you should've done the first time."

"What's different now? I'm still a surgeon, I'm still young, and I don't have a life outside of this hospital. Everything is the same."

"No, you're not looking at the big picture. You're the surgeon, you're young, but you can support yourself, and you can choose to split your life between work and an actual life. You have more capability; you just don't see that."

"I don't know if I can do it."

"But you want to."

"Maybe."

"Sarah, you don't even begin to contemplate something unless there's a tiny inkling that you can handle it. You sound like you made up your mind the moment you saw her." Zondra and Sarah laid together for a while, staring at the ceiling and not talking. They communicated best in silence.

"I'm not ready to face her questions." Sarah finally said. "I don't have good enough answers."

"Her questions? I think you mean Chuck's questions."

"I guess I mean both."

"You haven't seen him since he left, have you?"

"No."

"You have a kid with him, you're going to have to face him sometime."

"I know."

"Jump right in, or else you'll talk yourself out of it."

"I already have."

* * *

It wasn't hard to find Chuck's address; the internet was a very connected technology. Sarah was sure that he would've been at his own hospital, but went to his place anyway. She was hoping to find him not home, that way she wouldn't have to talk to him but put some effort in anyway. He answered the door almost immediately, his light blue boxers the only piece of clothing he wore.

"Sarah?"

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I think we should talk about Sydney." She avoided looking at anything except his eyes.

"Of course, come in." Chuck allowed the blonde inside, leading her into the living room area. "Let me go put on a sweatshirt…and maybe some pants." He rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile.

"Sure." Sarah sat on the black leather couch in the middle of the room.

"So uh, I assume you're talking about our daughter and not the city in Australia." Chuck's voice carried throughout the apartment.

"Still trying to be funny all the time I see."

"What, it's not working?" Chuck emerged from around the corner, smiling widely.

"Not really."

"Oh come on, Sarah. Lighten up, would you?"

"Lighten up? My kid just randomly comes back into my life and you expect me to lighten up?" Her voice grew louder with each word.

"Our kid."

"Whatever."

"No, not whatever. Sarah, you never even told me about her, but here I am trying to be a part of her life."

"And you really think that you can be?"

"Don't you?"

"I don't know how I feel. I gave her away like she was nothing, how can I expect her to let me be a part of her life?"

"You can't. That what being a parent is, forcing yourself into their lives whether they like it or not."

"So you want to do this?"

"Do you?"

"I asked you first."

"Yeah, I do." Chuck said with absolute clarity.

"Then I'm in it with you." Sarah gave a quick nod.

"Her hearing is tomorrow, I kinda snooped around with medical records and came across her file. I talked to her social worker."

"We should go, right?"

"I mean, what kind of parents would we be if we didn't?"

* * *

Sydney stood in front of the judge with as serious of a face as she could muster up. She was nervous as hell, not sure if she would get her emancipation or not.

"So you're fifteen, and you're trying to escape Cloudyvale's Home for Girls?" The judge looked up from her papers.

"Yes ma'am."

"Do you have a job?"

"No."

"A place to live?"

"Well-"

"Miss, how do you expect to live?"

"I have a few thousand dollars saved up and there's an apartment close to my school that's up for rent," Sydney swallowed, "I have a plan."

"No renter is going to allow a fifteen-year-old to rent without a co-signer."

"I'll sign!" Chuck and Sarah both yelled at the same time.

"And you are?" The Judge peered through her glasses.

"They're nobody." Sydney grumbled.

"We're her parents." Sarah explained. "Her birth parents."

"I see no mention of birth parents in contact here on the file."

"That's because they aren't supposed to be here." Sydney flashed them a glare.

"We'll co-sign for the apartment, your honor." Chuck ignored Sydney's glance.

"I'll be honest with you Ms. McAllister, I'm not going to grant you emancipation. You have no way of supporting yourself, and nobody will allow a fifteen-year-old to rent or buy a place on their own. I am however going to grant joint custody to Mr. Bartowski and Ms. Walker." The judge looked down at the birth certificate now in front of her.

"What?" Chuck and Sarah said in unison with their daughter. The trio looked around at each other before the judge smacked her gavel and dismissing the court room. Sarah had to rush after Sydney, who bolted from the room immediately.

"I didn't mean for it to end up that way." Sarah caught up to her daughter, trying to stop her from running off.

"If you two hadn't shown up, I'd be a free woman by now." Sydney seethed.

"Woman? You're a kid! The judge wasn't going to grant you emancipation and you know it. At least this way you won't have to go back to Cloudyvale."

"No, I'm just stuck with the shitty parents who gave me up instead."

"Hey, watch your mouth."

"Don't tell me what to do. Why don't you just leave me alone, since you know how to do it so well?" Sydney walked to the large park area across the parking lot of the courthouse, disappearing behind a tree.

"Sarah!" Chuck was out of breath by the time he reached her, bursting out of the courthouse in a blur. "Just let her go. She won't get far without transportation, and she belongs to us now anyway." He lightly touched her shoulder.

"How are we supposed to do this? Joint custody? Are we out of our minds?"

"No, we're finally in our right minds. She's a good thing, not a burden."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

"You're the one who had the genius idea of showing up here."

"Are you seriously getting mad at me right now?"

"Why are you here?"

"Because she's my daughter! Why are you here?" People started to stare at the two arguing adults.

"Because I'm the one who gave birth to her!"

"Oh really? You're playing that card?"

"Looks like I am."

"Well it's not like you gave me the chance to be there." The words left Chuck's mouth before he had a chance to stop them.

"Wow." Sarah stared at him, unable to find the words to say.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're right. I didn't tell you about her."

"I shouldn't bring it up, especially not now. Just go talk to her."

"Me? Why can't you?"

"Because I didn't give birth to her." Chuck said with a certain playful sarcasm.

"Touche Mr. Bartowski." Sarah smiled. She walked over to the park area, unsure of what to say to the teen.

"Mind if I sit?" Sarah had easily found the tree behind which Sydney was hiding.

"You're going to anyway." Sydney sassed. Sarah sat down, hugging her knees into her chest.

"I'm sorry." She rested the back of her head on the tree, looking at Sydney.

"Okay."

"Look, you're going to have to let me in at least a little bit if you want this to work."

"Who said I did?"

"Sydney, I'm your mother. You may not like it, I may not be ready for it, and we may fight twenty-four seven, but it's happening. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me, so can we please just try to make this easy?"

"You got rid of me."

"I can't ever apologize to you enough for what I did. I think about it every day."

"That's not going to change what happened in the past."

"I know, but we can change the future."

"You know how stupid that sounds, right?"

"Yeah, it sounded better in my head…" Sarah trailed. The two laughed together for a moment, forgetting their troubles. Sydney was the one to snap back into reality first, looking at her mother seriously.

"Do you really think that this is going to work?"

"Yeah, I do. You want to know why?"

"Sure."

"Because you're my daughter. The one thing I know about being a doctor is that there's nothing stronger than the bond between a mother and her child, no matter how distant." She smiled slightly.

"What about the bond of a father and his kid? I'm not exactly sure Chuck is cut out for this." Sydney returned the smile.

"He's more ready for this than I am, trust me."

"You know, I think I do. Trust you I mean."

"Good. That'll make things a lot easier." Sarah stood up and held a hand out to Sydney. "You ready to go home?"

"Yeah." Sydney took her mother's hand to help herself up, feeling more wanted than she had ever felt before.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! This chapter is a little short, only because I'm still messing with characters and storylines in my head. Thanks for reading, I'll update again soon!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Motherhood wasn't the dream job for Sarah, nor was it one she excelled at. She and Chuck had both agreed to a two-week schedule for Sydney's living situation. Two weeks with Sarah, followed by two weeks with Chuck. Of course if their hospital schedules were too crazy, they kept her longer or switched off parenting duties mid-week. They found it incredibly easy to work together when it came to their daughter. They both agreed on curfews, finding a good school, eating habits, television time, etc. Sarah and Bryce had a spare room in the loft, which Bryce was strenuously renovating into a teenager's dream room.

"What does she like?" It was Chuck's turn with Sydney, so Bryce and Sarah spent every spare minute in bed.

"I don't know." Sarah replied.

"Well you should." Bryce mumbled.

"Thank you." Sarah folded her arms across her chest and stared at the ceiling.

"I meant that you should try to find out. You should spend some quality time with her next week."

"You think I haven't tried? That girl is a steel trap."

"Like you?" Bryce smiled, and Sarah smacked him playfully.

"Shut up."

"Hey, it's your genes that were passed on." He put his hands up in surrender.

"I think she still hates me."

"I don't think she hates you, I think she's adjusting to having parents. Especially her real parents."

"I think she's going to be mad at me forever. We have these moments where everything is fine and it feels right, and then the next minute I feel like we're back to square one."

"Babe, I think that's how it is with every teenager in the world." He placed a hand on her arm and stroked it gently.

"I wish it was easy." She turned to look at him and smiled.

"If it was easy, there wouldn't ever be a bond between you two. I think you need the challenge, Chuck too." After saying this, Bryce kissed Sarah gently.

"What would I do without you?" She smiled once more, kissing him back and pressing her body against his. Her phone started to vibrate on the bedside table to her left, and she groaned.

"Don't answer it." Bryce said, kissing her harder.

"I have to." She pulled away reluctantly and answered. "Hello?"

"Sarah?" Was the worried voice on the other line?

"Chuck? What's wrong?"

"I need you at the hospital."

* * *

Sarah raced through the lobby of SoCal General Hospital, thinking only about getting to her daughter. Chuck was waiting for her outside the elevators on the first floor.

"What the hell happened?" Sarah demanded.

"It's only a distal radius fracture, she's fine." He tried to assure the blonde.

"You call a broken wrist fine? Where were you?"

"I got called into the hospital. She tripped up the stairs at home and landed on her hand." The two entered the elevator as soon as it opened up. Chuck pressed the fifth floor button.

"Chuck, this isn't some random patient. This is our daughter." Sarah ranted. This was the first time Sarah had openly referred to Sydney as "theirs" and not "hers".

"I know, which is why I have the best doctor on top of it." Chuck replied.

"Oh yeah, and who might that be?" The elevator doors opened to reveal a short brunette standing at the counter in the middle of the orthopedic floor. She looked over as she heard the ding of the elevator arriving.

"Chuck, just the man I was looking for." She smiled, oblivious to the leggy blonde standing on his right.

"Lou, how's Sydney?"

"You let your girlfriend check my daughter?" Sarah started to lose it.

"Excuse me, if I do say so, I'm over qualified to look at a simple wrist fracture." Lou retorted, noticing Sarah for the first time.

"A simple wrist fracture?" Sarah raised her voice, "This is the exact reason I'm not comfortable with you treating Sydney. You aren't looking at this as an important case, but one that you could do so easily that you don't even have to try. What if you missed something or decided not to cast it properly?"

"I-" Lou tried to save herself from the hole she had started to dig, but Sarah raised her hand to silence the very short brunette.

"What room?" Sarah asked the nurse behind the counter who had been indiscreetly listening to the whole conversation.

"515." Was her short reply. Chuck looked to Lou in sympathy.

"Don't worry about her, she can get a bit...intense." He said.

"I'm still trying to deal with the fact that you have a kid. But your ex might be a bit too much, Chuck." Lou shook her head at him slightly and walked away in the opposite direction. Chuck heard a slight whistle of disproval to his right and looked over to see Morgan shaking his head.

"Women." He raised his eyebrows and sighed. Chuck stood there for a moment before heading to Sydney's room.

"You're okay?" Sarah was asking the teen as Chuck entered.

"Yeah, Dr. Peterson was really nice." Sydney smiled.

"Lou?" Chuck asked.

"Is that her first name?"

"Uh, yeah." Chuck coughed, "So how's the wrist?"

"Good. I'll have a splint for a few days, she said to come back to have it casted." She held up her left wrist.

"Let's just get you home." Sarah said.

"But I'm with Chuck for the rest of the week."

"Not anymore." Sarah looked at Chuck as she said this, throwing him a warning look.

"Yes, I am. Chuck gets me for two weeks and you get me for two weeks, that's the deal." Sydney held her ground.

"Chuck?" The was a subtle knock on the door of the room.

"Hey, Ellie." He smiled at his sister warmly. Sarah stood at the side of the bed, staring at Ellie blankly. The two had once been best friends, but strayed when Sarah left the intern program at California Shores Hospital where they all trained together.

"Can I talk to you when you have the chance?" She ignored Sarah completely.

"Sure, just give me a second." Chuck replied. Ellie nodded slightly and exited the room.

"Wow, she looks the same." Sarah said awkwardly.

"Yup, she acts the same too." Chuck smiled.

"You know her too?" Sydney looked to Sarah.

"Yeah, that's your Aunt Ellie."

* * *

**February 19th, 2005**

"Today is your first day of your life. Everything you thought you knew has gone out the window, and you are now in reality." Chief Daniels of California Shores General Hospital spoke in a very clear and calm tone to each of the interns standing before him. "In all honesty, maybe five of you will make it through the program to become attending surgeons. The rest will fail miserably. The question is, are you one of the ones to make it out alive?" Sarah Walker smiled at his words, more than sure that she was one of the victors.

"He says the same thing every year." She heard someone say to her left.

"That's the attitude that will get you kicked out." Sarah replied.

"Oh, sorry, I thought I said that in my head. I'm Ellie by the way, I'm in my first year of residency."

"So you've been here a while then."

"Yeah, and it really isn't that scary." She smiled warmly at Sarah. "What's your name?"

"Sarah Walker." She stuck out her hand and shook Ellie's.

"It's nice to meet you, Sarah."

"You too, Ellie..." Sarah trailed.

"Bartowski."

"As in Stephen Bartowski? The Bartowski method?"

"I see we have a General Surgery enthusiast." Ellie laughed.

"Actually I'm interested in Cadriothoracic's."

"Going for the big guns, I see."

"I know most people don't make Cardio, but I'm going to. I'm going to be the one."

"I believe it."

"So what does a girl have to do around here to make it up in the ranks?"

"You want the truth?"

"Yes." Sarah replied eagerly, leaning closer to the brunette.

"Do your job." Ellie whispered.

"That's it?"

"Yup. You really can't have a life outside of the hospital though. You'll breathe, eat, and sleep here for the next two years at least."

"I'm ready for it."

"I can see that." Ellie laughed.

* * *

"Sarah?" Sydney's voice broke through Sarah's thoughts. "Chuck is taking me home now."

"Okay, be sure to let me know when you get there." Sarah replied.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Chuck wanted me to tell you that Lou needs a signature from you." The teen turned around and walked away. Sarah sighed, not wanting to deal with Chuck's girlfriend. It really had nothing to do with jealousy, just questions she knew would be asked that she didn't want to answer. She found Lou making rounds on her patients, making sure they had the proper care.

"Peterson? You needed a signature?" She caught up with the surgeon.

"Yeah, the papers are at the desk." Lou continued helping the patient in the room before her, not making eye contact with Sarah.

"Look, I know that this is probably weird-" Sarah started.

"You think? Imagine yourself dating a really great guy for about two weeks and then randomly finding out from a nurse on the fourth floor that he has a kid with some hot shot cardio surgeon." She interrupted, rambling on.

"I'm sure it was difficult."

"It was."

"I want to thank you for looking at Sydney's wrist, I know you didn't have to."

"Of course I did. She's Chuck's daughter." She looked at Sarah softly for once. "But I really have to check my other patients."

"Right, I understand." Sarah nodded and walked away slowly, feeling the start of some sort of mutual agreement with the fellow surgeon.

"Still threatened by other great surgeons I see." She heard a voice to her left and looked up to see her ex-best friend.

"I've gotten better."

"You call that better? Wow, do I need to help you with everything?" Ellie laughed.

"It's been a while." Sarah looked down.

"Yeah, it has."

"I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch, Ellie. I just figured it would be weird with Chuck and all, and I couldn't even think about him without feeling like death, let alone be around his family every day."

"I get it, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt."

"Maybe we can fix that." The two shared an awkward but emotional hug, both excited to see the other again.

"Thanks for telling me you had a kid, by the way." Ellie said, letting go of Sarah.

"Thanks for ignoring me earlier, by the way." Sarah retorted.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't sure if I hated you or missed you."

"And by the way we're talking now, I'm guessing you missed me?"

"Maybe a little bit of hate too." She said sarcastically.

"Understandable." Sarah laughed back.

"Are you free right now?"

"I should be. Bryce is at home and Chuck had Sydney, I just need to sign a few forms for her."

"Great, I have a while before surgery. Let's go eat some crappy cafeteria food and talk about our lives."

"Sounds like a plan to me." The two walked to the elevator together like old times, talking about anything and everything. Sarah couldn't help but think that Sydney had found her to help her fix the life she broke, just before it was too late to do so.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well, well, well, it's been a long time, hasn't it? By now, my fans know that I'm notorious for taking a long time to update my stories. I'm sorry for that, but sometimes it takes me a long period of time to get my thoughts straight and really prodice something worth posting. Here's the next chapter in this AU of mine! I went back and made a few changes to the first few chapters, just so things would add up a bit more. Hope you enjoy this one!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Two months had flown by with the Bartowski/Walker clan. The daily grind had become easier and easier with them all, and they were finally getting into a pattern that worked for each of them perfectly. Sarah spent her Saturday mornings sleeping in, as Doctor Johnson had taken over her weekends, giving her time with Sydney. Bryce was still on-call for the weekends, but he ended up at home whenever he had the chance. Waking up to an empty left side of the bed, Sarah frowned. She absolutely hated the absence of her boyfriend, because it made her feel alone. Her nose caught a scent of bacon, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She sighed, throwing her legs over the side of the bed, and pulling herself up to make her way into the kitchen.

"Morning, Sarah." Sydney smiled at the older version of herself quickly, going back to her bacon.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked.

"Making breakfast, what does it look like?" They hadn't gotten past the smart-mouth phase yet.

"Can I ask why you're making breakfast?" Sarah sat at the counter top in front of the kitchen sink.

"I felt like eating bacon."

"And pancakes, and eggs, with fresh squeezed orange juice?" Sarah looked at the mess all over the counters.

"What can I say? I'm hungry."

"Is this the part where I'm supposed to ask you what you did wrong or what you want?"

"Can't a girl make breakfast without wanting or hiding something?"

"No."

"Well, I didn't do anything, and I don't want anything. Except for a full stomach." Sydney flipped the bacon once more, before hearing the doorbell ring.

"Who the hell would be coming here at nine in the morning?" Sarah asked.

"Don't look at me." Sydney said guiltily. Sarah narrowed her eyes at the teenager as she got up from her stool and headed for the door. She opened it slowly, surprised by the face behind it.

"Chuck?"

"Am I late?" He asked.

"For what?"

"Breakfast?" His response was more of a question.

"SYDNEY!" Sarah shouted.

"What?" Sydney emerged from the kitchen.

"Chuck's here." Sarah said through clenched teeth.

"Cool."

"Did you not know I was coming?" Chuck asked.

"Of course I did, I just overslept." Sarah led Chuck into the kitchen, trailing behind Sydney. "You're dead." She whispered into her daughter's ear.

"You're welcome." Sydney smiled.

"So, Chuck, how's work?" Sarah asked, grabbing herself a plate.

"Not bad, actually. Not a great time for the NICU, but no major losses this week." He grabbed his own plate.

"Chuck's the top-ranked Pedes surgeon in America." Sydney chimed in.

"I know." Sarah gave her a warning glance.

"Double board certified." The teen continued.

"I'm aware, Syd." Sarah glared this time.

"What? I'm just saying."

"Sarah's triple board certified, so I'd watch out if I were you." Chuck laughed. Sarah gave him a look of thanks as she sat back down at the counter. The three of them ate together, laughing and talking about medical things.

"So how'd you guys meet?" Sydney asked out of nowhere. Sarah almost choked on a pancake, while Chuck coughed awkwardly.

"Uh, we interned together." He said.

"That's it?" Sydney asked. Chuck and Sarah shared a glance, not wanting to get into the past.

"Not exactly." Sarah replied.

* * *

**February 19th, 2005**

_Ellie had given Sarah a few good pointers on what to expect as an intern at California Shores. Only a few made it through the program every year, and she was determined to be one of them. She stuck by Ellie for most of the day, but had to split from her towards the end of her first day._

_"You'll be fine, just watch out for the other interns. It's a cutthroat program this year."_

_"Thanks, Ellie. You've really helped me out."_

_"No problem, we've all been there." The brunette left the blonde standing in the middle of the Pediatric floor of the hospital holding numerous patient charts. Sarah turned around quickly, running into another person._

_"Oh, uh, I'm-I'm sorry." A male voice mumbled. Sarah immediately recognized the lavender purple scrubs of an intern._

_"Watch where you're going, okay? Are you stupid?" She went with the intimidating approach._

_"I'm really sorry." The man stood up, and revealed his floppy brown hair and soft chocolate brown eyes. Sarah felt herself waiver for a split second, as his puppy dog look tried to penetrate her heart muscles._

_"Do you go around running into everyone?" She picked her badass demeanor right back up._

_"No, I just wasn't looking."_

_"Clearly."_

_"Hey, you weren't looking either." He said._

_"So you're blaming your clumsiness on me?"_

_"Maybe I am."_

_"I will ruin you." Sarah seethed._

_"Yo, dude. This place is siiiiick!" An immature Morgan Grimes appeared behind Chuck in a flash. "Whoa, who's the hottie?" He wiggled his eyebrows._

_"Get a life." Sarah rolled her eyes, walking away from the duo._

_"Really?" Chuck asked._

_"What? She was hot." Morgan retorted. __"Did you flash her the Bartowski name tag?"_

_"Why would I?"_

_"Your dad is super famous. Any chick would dig that!"_

_"You know how bad that sounds, Morgan? Using my dad to pick up women?"_

_"Branch out, man. Lighten up." The two left the pediatric floor and made their way toward the cafeteria. Some of the interns were still making rounds on patients and sucking up to their residents, but Chuck and Morgan were more concerned with the first dibs on sandwich choices._

_"Really Chuck?" The voice of Ellie Bartowski interrupted his hard decision between pastrami or roast beef._

_"Uh, we were just-"_

_"Do you want to fail out of your internship?"_

_"Not exactly."_

_"Geez El, we're starving. They have us working like dogs!" Morgan whined._

_"I really don't have time for you, Morgan." Ellie shook her head, turning back to her brother, "Please just start taking this more seriously, okay? You can't get by with your name." She walked away after grabbing a regular turkey on wheat._

_"Why does everyone keep bringing up the name thing?" Chuck looked to his best friend._

_"It's a good name to have for this field of work." The elfish man shrugged._

_"Maybe we should ditch lunch."_

_"Aw man! We just got here."_

_"Ellie's right, and so was that girl I ran into. We need to work hard." Chuck set down his tray of food, and started out of the cafeteria._

_"Okay dude, but wait up! Morgan shouted after him._

* * *

The day went by slowly after breakfast, especially for Sarah, who hated sitting at home. Sydney was glued to a reality TV show, while Sarah tried reading up on the candidates for this year's Douglas Erwin award.

"These people are on TV for getting pregnant at fifteen?" Sarah scoffed, looking up from her laptop.

"They're sixteen, actually."

"Still."

"You were what, twenty? That's only four years older than these girls."

"I was twenty-four, thank you."

"And yet, these sixteen-year-olds you judge so much are keeping their children." Sydney retorted. Sarah cringed at another step backwards.

"Are we ever going to get past that?" She asked.

"I don't know."

"We still haven't talked about you inviting Chuck over for breakfast without telling me." Sarah desperately wanted to change the subject.

"What about it?"

"You invited him to breakfast without telling me."

"So what? He's my dad."

"And he's always going to be your dad, but there are some things that I'd like to know before they happen."

"What's the deal with you two anyway? What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? So you didn't tell him you were pregnant and gave me up for nothing?"

"Drop it." Sarah snapped, causing Sydney to become quiet.

"Sorry." Sydney said under her breath.

"Honey, I'm home!" Bryce's comical remark came from the doorway of the loft. "Did Rachel decide to stay with Ben?" He asked, making his way to the couch and joining Sydney in watching the show.

"No, she chose Jack."

"What!"

"You two are so weird." Sarah shook her head.

"Says the one with her head buried in doctor things." Bryce laughed, planting a kiss on his girlfriend's lips.

"Chuck's sister was nominated for a Douglas Erwin today."

"It's the name."

"What name?" Sydney asked.

"Bartowski. It's the holy grail in the surgical world." Bryce responded.

"Bryce.." Sarah started.

"What? Stephen Bartowski was a mastermind when it came to surgery."

"Who's Stephen Bartowski?" Sydney looked to her mother.

"Chuck's dad."

"Is that why he and Ellie are surgeons?"

"You'll have to ask him that." Sarah forced a smile. Sydney looked back toward the television, and Sarah looked at Bryce, nodding her head toward the bedroom. "We'll be right back."

"Spare me the details." Sydney laughed.

"What the hell was that? Did you not see my look?" Sarah demanded.

"So I'm guessing this isn't sexy time."

"This isn't funny."

"Why can't I talk about Stephen Bartowski? The kid has some serious talent in her family."

"Yeah, she does, but that's a conversation for Chuck and I to have with her."

"Got it." Bryce looked down.

"That's not what I meant..."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I know that she's going to have a lot of questions, but I'm not ready for them. I'd like to avoid them for as long as possible. So can we not bring things up?"

"You're the one who brought up Ellie."

"I get that, but we don't have to go into the whole Bartowski family history. Not yet."

"I'm sorry, really."

"I know. And I'm sorry for jumping on you. You know how weekends make me."

"Yeah, we should get you back to on-call weekends." Bryce laughed. "What did you do today anyway? Did you figure out anything else to put in Sydney's room?"

"Uh, we just hung around. And no, I didn't. I'm not good at interrogating people." Sarah had no clue why she didn't mention that Chuck had come over for breakfast.

"Should we show her tonight then?"

"Sure." Sarah smiled again. They shared a quick kiss, heading back out into the living room. "Hey, can you come with us for a second?"

"Uh, sure. The episode just finished anyway." Sydney got up from the couch and followed the adults to the room located on the opposite end of the loft.

"We thought you could use some space of your own." Bryce opened the door, revealing a perfectly renovated teenager-proof room.

"You guys did this?" Sydney stared at the room in awe. A beautiful cedar desk sat on the left wall, stocked with pencils, pens, paper, and a lamp. The walls were painted a light eggshell blue, her favorite color. The bed spread matched the walls, with Aztec patterns on it. A brown dresser was filled with clothes, along with a closet full of Vans, Converse, and Nike's.

"Bryce did most of it."

"Sarah helped."

"I wasn't sure about the color. I knew you'd hate pink."

"It's perfect."

"I'm sure it's not the best room in the world."

"Really, Sarah, it's great. I've never had my own room before." The words struck Sarah like a bolt of lightening. When she gave her baby up, she was assured that the child would be adopted into a wonderful home. The girl in front of her never got the things Sarah had wished.

"We'll let you settle in." Bryce said.

"Thanks." Sydney walked around, examining every little detail.

"Syd?" Sarah asked before leaving the room.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too." That was the first moment Sarah had truly felt like a mother.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A lot of people are asking about some more Charah interaction, and I'll be sure to deliver some in the next few chapters. I'm not just going to have them randomly get back together after fifteen years of not even speaking, so please keep your patience. I like to write my stories (somewhat) realistically, and it would take real people a while to get back to where they once were. Thank you all for keeping up with my stories. Writing is something that I take great pleasure in, and I'm glad that this site is here for me to share my writing with you all! I realize that I've been skimping on Chuck's part in this fic (in the present day scenes), so I'll delve into his life over the next few chapters. Thanks again!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Work was the only thing that kept Sarah sane during the breaks she had from Sydney. Being in the OR is where she belonged, no matter what. Something about the smell of the chemicals, and the way a heart felt in her hands sucked her in every time. She made sure to keep up with surgeries, but also make time for her daughter. Checking the surgical board every hour had become somewhat of a religion.

"Walker, I see you have a coronary bypass at three." John Casey appeared to the right of Sarah, staring at the surgical board.

"Should be an easy day." Sarah nodded.

"I put Larkin on the conjoined twins. I expected to see your name up there."

"I have to be home in time to feed Sydney tonight."

"Sucks having a kid, huh?" He smirked.

"Actually, I'm not hating it."

"Sarah! Just the cardio god I was looking for." Zondra rushed up to her best friend.

"What's up?"

"I need you for a consult."

"Uh, sure. Nice talking to you, John."

"Yeah." He grunted in reply. Sarah and Zondra walked away in step with each other.

"Thank you for saving me." Sarah smiled.

"Of course. Talking to John Casey is like talking to a wall. Does he have human emotions?"

"I think somewhere deep down, he's a real person." They laughed together.

"So what do you have today?"

"Coronary bypass in a few hours, and then dinner after that."

"How's that going?"

"Good I think. She loved the room."

"Bryce worked really hard on it, huh?"

"He did. He's trying really hard to make a good impression on her."

"What about Chuck?"

"What about him?"

"Well, he's Sydney's dad. Shouldn't he be the one doing these things?"

"He has a place. He can do them there."

"Sarah..."

"What?" Sarah snapped at the brunette.

"You're going to have to face him eventually."

"Eventually I will, but for right now I'd like to focus on the people who don't leave." She picked up a clipboard from the nurse's desk in front of her, and walked away. Not looking up from the floor, she ran straight into Bryce.

"In a hurry?" He laughed.

"You could say that." She wiped her hair out of her face.

"You okay?"

"Fine."

"Which means no." He put a hand on her shoulder. "And I know you hate talking, but I've got a minute if you need me."

"I'll be okay." She forced a smile at him.

"Alright. I'll be home late tonight, so don't wait up."

"I heard."

"Right."

"Why didn't you say anything? Conjoined twins are rare."

"I didn't see your name on the board so I figured I'd keep it quiet."

"Hey, if you get a great surgery, please brag about it. You know how I love some competition."

"You do?" He laughed, causing Sarah to follow suit.

"You'll tell me all about it tonight?"

"Of course. Anything for you, babe." The two kissed, letting it linger for a moment. "I love you a lot, you know that right?"

"I do." Sarah smiled once more before walking away. She turned around halfway down the hall and yelled, "I love you too!" A few nurses around them stared, but Sarah didn't care. Loving Bryce was something she could do for the rest of her life.

* * *

**2005**

_"Alright, we're going to put a few of our interns together today, and see what we can get accomplished." Chief Daniels was giving another one of his lectures to the interns. "I know you all are competing against each other, but one day some of you will be working together. So for now, we're going to see how your teamwork plays out."_

_"I bet I get to work with Ellie." Morgan whispered to Chuck._

_"I'm pretty sure she told them not to let you near her." Chuck laughed._

_"Ellis, Hoffman, George, and Clarke, you'll be with Doctor Silver." The Chief nodded towards a middle-aged resident, a tall and handsome man. "Brooks, Roberts, Clover, and Davis, you get to join Doctor Woodcomb today."_

_"Do he and Ellie have a thing?" Morgan nodded to the female Bartowski giggling with Doctor Woodcomb._

_"I don't know, she doesn't really talk to me about her love life." He replied._

_"Grimes, Bartowski, Walker, and Mason, you'll be with Doctor Bartowski."_

_"Uh, Chief, Chuck is my brother." Ellie stopped her conversation with Devon Woodcomb, and walked up to Daniels._

_"And?"_

_"Well, aren't you worried about that?"_

_"If you show any signs of favoritism, good or bad, you'll have to find another job. In the meantime, I suggest you teach him." Daniels walked away with a stride that showed his ego all too well. Chuck gave Ellie a look of sympathy, which she did not return._

_"Let's go." She growled._

_"Wait, you're Ellie's brother?" Sarah followed Chuck and the other two interns, all of them trying to keep up with Ellie._

_"I sure hope so."_

_"That's impossible. Stephen Bartowski was your dad?"_

_"Again, I hope so."_

_"But you-"_

_"Look ignorant?" Chuck stopped. "I can assure you that I'm much more qualified to be here than you. I was top of my class at Stanford, and my family name suggests that I'm better than anyone here. So you can stop your judgment, because I don't have time for people like you." Chuck snapped. Sarah stared at him in disbelief, taken aback by his outburst._

_"I'm not going to babysit any of you. You're here to do a job, so do it." Ellie said to the four interns in front of her. They all scurried out the back of the hospital, putting on the appropriate surgical gear as they did so. Chuck and Zondra were able to snag a leg amputation, while Sarah watched a heart transplant with Morgan. The day seemed to tick by quickly, as the interns were there doing what they loved._

_"Dude, I didn't think I would ever be inside an OR." Morgan struck up a conversation with Chuck as they hung up their uniforms for the day._

_"You're a surgical intern, Morgan." Chuck laughed, hanging his lab coat in his locker._

_"I know, but did you really expect me to be performing surgeries?"_

_"Point taken." Chuck grabbed his regular jacket and slid it on. "But you didn't actually do anything, right? You just watched?"_

_"Well yeah."_

_"Then does it really count?" The two laughed together, and shut their lockers in unison. _

_"Bartowski, got a minute?" Sarah's face appeared where Chuck's open locker door had been._

_"Uh, sure?"_

_"Look, I may have underestimated you."_

_"Really?" Chuck's sarcasm caused an eye roll from the blonde._

_"I'm not going to do it again. You're now my competition, and I just wanted you to know that I recognize it."_

_"Thank you?"_

_"Bring your A-game. That name isn't going to carry you by itself." She turned around and left the room in a blur of blonde curls, leaving Chuck and Morgan both dumbfounded._

_"I think she was hitting on you."_

_"I highly doubt that. Let's just get out of here."_

* * *

Finishing early was something that never happened for Sarah. Even on her best days, she finished later than any other surgeon at the hospital. But now she had something to go home to, someone to look forward to seeing. Not that Bryce wasn't a joy to spend the night with after a long day, but Sydney meant more. When she got home, she found Sydney sitting on her bed, holding a photograph in her hands.

"What's that?" Sarah leaned on the doorframe with her arms crossed. Sydney jumped back in surprise, putting the picture under her pillow.

"Nothing." She smiled guiltily. "You're home early."

"There's a first time for everything, right?"

"Sure."

"I was thinking of ordering some Chinese for dinner. Bryce has a late surgery scheduled so it'll just be us girls tonight."

"Sounds good."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay. I'll go call in our order right now." The order went in fairly quickly, as Tuesday's were the slowest days at Kung Pao Sal's. The mother/daughter duo opted for Netflix with their dinner, Sydney choosing Grey's Anatomy.

"I've always wondered if this resembled a real OR." Sydney mumbled through bites of orange chicken.

"Not even close." Sarah replied.

"Really?"

"Okay, maybe a tiny bit. But there's no way we'd get away with talking so much about our personal lives while operating. I mean, seriously. These people can't shut up."

"They're actors, mom." Sydney felt her face get hot after the words left her mouth. That was the first time she had called Sarah 'mom'.

"I guess. They could at least try to make it seem real." Sarah smiled to herself, pretending as though Sydney's word choice hadn't phased her. Thankfully, Bryce's entrance made the moment pass by quickly.

"Oh boy, is that what I think it is?" Bryce rubbed his hands together in excitement as he entered the living room.

"Kung Pao Sal's." Sydney smiled at the handsome surgeon.

"Just what the doctor ordered." He kissed Sarah as he sat on the couch next to her. Sydney held a fork up to him from her position on the floor, and he grabbed the nearest carton of food.

"Conjoined twins?" Sarah asked her boyfriend eagerly, snuggling into his side as he draped one arm around her.

"Longest surgery of my life. Sorry you missed it."

"I'm not." The blonde's gaze dropped to her daughter.

"Hey, pass the rice you pig." Sydney joked with Bryce.

"Steamed or fried?"

"Steamed, duh." The two laughed for a moment.

"This is so over-dramatized." Bryce pointed to the screen with his fork.

"We know." Sydney and Sarah said in unison. Sarah spent the rest of the night taking everything in. Having a daughter wasn't nearly as terrifying as she had originally thought. Before climbing into her comfortable bed, she went in to check on Sydney one more time.

"You good?" She asked.

"Yeah." Sydney was looking at the picture again.

"Did you bring that from Cloudyvale?"

"No."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Chuck gave it to me."

"Chuck?"

"Yeah."

"What's it a picture of?" Sarah walked into the room and sat on the bed.

"You." Sydney handed her the picture. "Well, both of you. He thought I should have it."

"We were so young." Sarah whispered, staring at the light blue intern scrubs she and Chuck were wearing.

"Did you love him?"

"What?" This caused Sarah to look up.

"Was it just a fling type thing or was it serious?"

"I don't-"

"Nevermind." Sydney got the hint that Sarah didn't want to talk.

"It's hard for me to talk about, kid."

"I get it, it's fine." Sydney took the picture back and put it under her pillow.

"He was right, you should have it." Sarah stood up. "You want the light off?"

"Yeah, thank you."

"I have to go in early tomorrow, but I'll see you after?"

"I should be here." Sydney gave a slight smile.

"Sleep tight." Sarah closed the door softly. She had been trying to forget her past with Chuck, but she knew it would all be coming back to her sooner rather than later.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: The ideas in my head seem to become more frequent every day, which is a good thing for those following this story! I know I have a two more fics that I'm working on, but I'm stuck with those ones, so I'm focusing on Unexpected for now. The most praise I get comes from my AU stories, and I definitely enjoy writing our favorite characters in different worlds. As always, than you to my readers, I do this for you! Enjoy the latest installment of Chuck vs The Unexpected.**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Chuck breathed in the air outside of SoCal General Hospital, enjoying the peaceful moments he had before entering the craziness of the building. He had a favorite bench, one far enough away from the entrance, but close enough to the flower garden side of the area to hide from any other surgeons going into work.

"Killing time?" Lou knew Chuck's favorite spot all too well.

"Just taking in the nature."

"Oh sure, just stealing my spot." She laughed, sitting next to him on the cold black metal bench.

"You didn't have your name on it." He joked.

"True, but I did find it first."

"That you did." Chuck smiled, kissing his girlfriend softly.

"What do you have today?"

"I have a frenulectomy in a few hours, and an appendectomy after that. Poor girl is an orphan and it doesn't look like she's being taken care of very well."

"Can't you call someone about it?"

"I mean, yeah, but what's it going to do? The system doesn't care about kids like that, and it breaks my heart because Sydney was one of those kids."

"I'll make a call." Lou placed a hand on his cheek before standing up.

"I'll see you later?" He asked.

"Of course." She smiled and walked away, entering the building with a certain confidence. Chuck followed a few minutes later, first checking on his appendectomy patient.

"Good morning, Gracie." He smiled warmly at the girl.

"Doctor Bartowski!" He face lit up as soon as he entered the room.

"How are we feeling?" He looked to the woman standing beside the bed. She was old and tired and looked irritated at the fact she had to be here with Gracie.

"She's fine."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but she needs surgery. That means she isn't fine." Chuck gave the woman a look.

"Let's get it done then." She spat.

"How's the pain, Gracie?"

"The medicine is helping." She smiled. Chuck had never seen a child so brave in his life. This six-year-old had been raised in an all girls home without parents, and now with one of the scariest things happening to her, she was still smiling.

"Well, we should have you in for surgery in a few hours, and then everything will be fixed. We have our nurses keeping a very close eye on you, just in case."

"Will I be okay?"

"You sure will." He smiled. "I'll be back in a bit to take you into the operating room, okay?" He looked to the woman. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, yeah." She followed Chuck out into the hallway.

"Ma'am-" He started.

"Agnes." She flirted, cutting him off and flashing him one gnarly yellow smile.

"Agnes," He gave a small uncomfortable laugh, "Gracie is going to need a few days in the hospital to recuperate after surgery."

"A few days? Chuck, is it?" She looked at his lab coat. "You get that girl out of here quick, you hear? I don't get paid extra to do this."

"You can't expect me to release a six-year-old right after a major surgery." He scoffed.

"Sure I can. Get it done." She turned around and went back into the room. He looked back at Gracie through the window, and watched as she closed her eyes as soon as Agnes re-entered. Chuck could only imagine it was because of the awful woman standing next to her. He sighed, wondering what kind of place Sydney had been thrown into; hopefully her situation had been better than this little girl's. He walked towards the nurses station, handing Gracie's updated charts to the nurse behind the counter.

"How's little Gracie?" Ellie appeared beside her brother, handing the nurse behind the desk of the nurse's station a folder.

"She's going to be fine." Everyone had taken a liking to the child. She was just so darn happy.

"You should get her in sooner rather than later." Ellie warned.

"Really? I had no clue."

"Hey, I'm just-"

"Trying to boss me around? You did that for twenty years, I think I'm good now." Chuck teased. "I'll have her in soon. I have a frenulectomy in a few minutes, and it shouldn't take too long."

"Dad would be proud of you." Ellie blurted.

"Were did that come from?"

"I don't know, you're just doing a really great job here. I know I'm proud of you."

"That means a lot, sis." Chuck hugged his older sister tight. After letting the moment sink in, the two parted and went their separate ways.

* * *

**2005**

_Sleep was the hardest thing to get as an intern. Either a patient needed tending to, or the resident's and attending's already had the on-call rooms occupied and were forbidden from being disturbed unless completely necessary. Sarah had been on her feet for thirty hours straight already, so she didn't mind finding an abandoned gurney to sleep on in the basement._

_"Ow!" Said a voice as Sarah plopped onto the dusty green mat behind her._

_"What the hell?" She asked, turning around to the voice._

_"Would you watch it?" Chuck's face popped out from under the sheet on top of the gurney. "Of course it's you."_

_"Of course it's you." She snapped back. _

_"Hey, I was here first."_

_"I didn't notice."_

_"Obviously."_

_"I've been up since four AM yesterday. I don't have the energy to fight with you." She scratched her head._

_"I should go finish my rounds anyway." Chuck pulled the sheet off himself and sat up. "Just for the record, I don't like fighting." He stood up and started to walk away from the blonde, still groggy from his nap._

_"Then can we just call a truce or something?" Sarah blurted._

_"A truce?" Chuck turned back around and walked up to Sarah. "You're the one who started this."_

_"And now it's old."_

_"What?"_

_"It's too tiring. I need to focus on my job."_

_"And I don't? I don't know what game you're trying to play, but it isn't fun."_

_"I'm not playing a game."_

_"I thought I was competition?"_

_"Oh you are."_

_"So now you want to hold hands and sing kumbaya?"_

_"Definitely not. I just think we should try to get along."_

_"Bright idea."_

_"Hey, at least I have the idea."_

_"I have to go."_

_"Fine."_

_"Fine." Chuck left once more. Sarah watched him as he went, feeling a spark starting to ignite within her. She shook her head, clearing any thoughts of sexual tension she had just felt, and rested on the gurney. She got about thirty minutes in before her pager went off, and she rushed to meet Ellie._

_"Walker! Get in here!" Ellie shouted from room 105. "Where the hell were you?" She demanded, pressing gauze to the patients chest._

_"I, uh-" Sarah couldn't get her words out._

_"Never mind, just put pressure on this!" Sarah did exactly as the resident told her, and watched in horror as the patient flat-lined in front of them. "Damn it." Ellie sighed, releasing the paddles she had been gripping so tightly. "Time of death, ten forty-five AM."_

_"Wait, Ellie!" Sarah rushed after the brunette as she exited the room._

_"Why didn't you answer your pager?" Ellie snapped._

_"I must've not heard it." Sarah mumbled._

_"Why not?"_

_"I fell asleep."_

_"Get it together, Walker. Go back into that room and take a long hard look, because that," She pointed to the room, "is your fault." Sarah felt stuck to the ground she was standing on. She wasn't one to mess up, at all, and she had just killed a man._

* * *

"Sarah! I'm home!" Sydney had taken the bus home from school, as Sarah had an important presentation to finish. She looked around the condo, unable to find Sarah.

"Hey, sorry, I'm in here." Sarah's head peeked out of the office.

"How's it going in here?" Sydney walked into the room, widening her eyes at the mess of papers everywhere.

"Oh, you know, fine." Sarah raced around, looking at different documents. "You wouldn't mind spending the night at Chuck's, would you? Bryce and I both won't be home tonight."

"No." Sydney shrugged.

"Cool. Get some stuff together, we'll leave pretty quickly." It didn't take the teen long to pack a few essentials to take to Chuck's. She had mostly everything she needed there already, but couldn't live without her favorite stuffed animal or favorite book. The two left in a hurry, due to the fact that Sarah was already late for a surgery. Chuck had a few more things to finish at SoCal, so Sarah dropped her daughter off there. "Call if you need anything, okay?"

"Will do." Sydney nodded. She slowly made her way into the hospital, dreading being there. She hated hospitals more than anything.

"Hi Sydney." Morgan Grimes' face was the first to greet her.

"Hey, Morgan."

"Chuck's just checking on a patient, but he'll be out pretty quick. Want something to drink?"

"No thanks, I'll just wait." She sat in the waiting room for an hour, spending the time reading the book she had brought with.

"He, kiddo. Sorry you had to wait." Chuck's voice made her look up.

"It's fine, I was reading."

"You ready to go?"

"Sure." As soon as she said it, Chuck's pager started to beep.

"Damn. You mind running up to the fourth floor with me? I have a patient up there. I need to sign a form, but I think she could use a friend."

"Is she my age?"

"Not quite." He gave a sheepish smile.

"If she's a baby, you're out of your mind."

"She's not a baby."

"Then I'll say hi." The two entered the main elevator located at the far end of the main hall, and made their way to the fourth floor.

"Now, she's had surgery today, so she'll be a bit groggy, but she'll like the company."

"You don't expect me to sing and crap, do you?"

"No, but I expect you to be nice." They stepped off the elevator as soon as it hit the fourth floor, and Sydney was hit with a sudden wave of fear. "What?" Chuck saw the look on his daughter's face.

"I can't be here." She replied.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Her." Sydney pointed to the yellow-toothed Agnes, who was standing only a few feet in front of them.

"What about her?" Before Sydney could explain, Agnes locked eyes with the teen.

"YOU!" She yelled, practically running toward her former orphan. Sydney ducked behind Chuck, closing her eyes and praying he would protect her.

"Whoa, back up." Thankfully Chuck came through.

"This little brat ran away from my home not three months back. I knew she'd turn up sooner or later." Agnes spat.

"This brat is my daughter." Chuck snapped back.

"Everything okay?" Ellie appeared with Devon by her side.

"Not at all." Chuck didn't look away from the evil woman in front of him.

"There must be some sort of misunderstanding, this child is an orphan."

"Not anymore she isn't."

"I don't know who you are, but I can assure you that my niece isn't an orphan." Ellie piped up. "And based on the condition you brought that little girl in, you could be in a serious amount of trouble. Let's not make it worse."

"Wait, how little?" Sydney collected her words, stepping out from behind Chuck.

"Just turned six."

"Gracie!" Sydney rushed to the room, breaking down at the sight of her favorite person. "I'm so sorry, Gracie." Sydney took the small hand in hers, and put her head on the child's chest.

"Sydney?" Gracie's voice was hoarse, but still sounded like herself.

"If I would have known you were in here, I would've come sooner I swear."

"It's okay. I'll be okay."

"You know her?" Chuck's voice sounded from the doorway.

"She's my best friend."

"We should let her rest."

"I'm not leaving until she's better."

"You have school."

"I don't care."

"Syd-"

"No!" She yelled. "I had no clue she was even in here. Look at her, Chuck! She's helpless and alone."

"I can hear you." Gracie chimed in.

"You need to listen to me," He walked over to his daughter, "You can't stop your life. You can't take care of her. But I can assure you that while she's here, I will watch her like a hawk."

"And what about when she has to go back? What then? That woman out there treated me like this. Don't you care at all?"

"I do care. And we can try to figure something out, but for now this is all I can do."

"What about adoption? You can adopt her!"

"Whoa, I don't know about that."

"What do you mean? You took me in."

"I wasn't even sure about that, and you're my daughter."

"So you won't help her?"

"I am helping her."

"Not as a doctor, as a human. As my _dad_."

"I can't do what you're asking me to do."

"I hate you." The words erupted out of Sydney's mouth without thought.

"What?"

"If you won't help her, I'll ask Sarah. She'll do it." Sydney got up, and ran out of the room.

"She loves you." Gracie said.

"You should sleep, kiddo. I'll check on you later." Chuck left the room as well, wanting to give Gracie time to recover. He knew that Sydney wouldn't be going far, so he didn't bother looking for her. He did however, spot Agnes yelling at a nurse. "Hey!" He shouted.

"Are you talking to me, doc?" She tried her hand at a sexy voice once more.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you." He stepped closer. "If you _ever_ even look at my daughter again, I will make sure that you are never paid again. I will make sure that you are never employed again. And I will try my hardest to put you behind bars. Do you hear me?"

"Chuck!" Ellie's voice cut his conversation short. Agnes left in a hurry, clearly humiliated by Chuck's outburst. "What the hell was that?"

"Sydney lived with that woman."

"I know."

"Gracie lives with that woman."

"I know."

"What kind of parent am I?"

"The kind that didn't know he had a kid in the first place."

"She was alone and mistreated and probably scarred for life, because of me."

"Not because of you, Chuck. Because of Sarah. Sarah put her there."

"I want full custody."

"What?"

"You're right. Sarah did all of it. She ruined Sydney's life and I won't let her do it again."

"Chuck, that's not what I-" Before Ellie could finish, Chuck was off. He was on a mission to have his daughter all day everyday for the rest of his life.


	7. Chapter 7

**A?N: Hey guys! I know some of you are confused by the timeline, but it works I promise. To those of you saying you're uninterested, just stop now. If you don't like the story, just don't read it. It's that simple. I am so grateful for constructive criticism and praise, but telling me you don't like my story doesn't do anything. To those enjoying it, I've put more Charah in here! Some of these ideas change and just start to come out onto the page, so don't be afraid to voice your opinions. Also, if you have any suggestions or questions, don't hesitate to DM me. Enjoy!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

**2005**

_After the incident with Ellie's patient, Sarah mostly kept to herself. News certainly traveled fast in the hospital, and before long, her mistake was the only thing people talked about._

_"I heard she was drunk out of her mind."_

_"I heard she turned off her pager to sleep."_

_"I heard she was doing another intern in the on-call room." The rumors became more and more ridiculous, and spread faster than a wildfire on it's best day. Sitting on the roof was her favorite thing to do after a shift, especially because it was almost always empty._

_"Ellie is looking for you." Chuck's voice cut through her thoughts._

_"Thanks." She stood up and dusted off her scrubs._

_"Hey, what happened wasn't your fault." He said._

_"How would you know?"_

_"I just do. We've been working together for five months now, that's almost half a year that I've known you. You don't screw up."_

_"Obviously I do. I did."_

_"Well, maybe you did, but that was one time. I haven't seen you make a single mistake since."_

_"Good for you."_

_"Sarah." He stared into her ice blue eyes. "You're a great doctor. Don't lose that."_

_"We aren't becoming friends are we?" She asked._

_"Hell no. But I thought we decided to stop fighting."_

_"We did, but this is borderline friendly. I don't know if I can handle friendship with you." Sarah smiled._

_"Probably not, I'm too nice of a person for your rough attitude."_

_"Attitude?"_

_"Total attitude." The two laughed._

_"I should go find Ellie."_

_"Yeah..."_

_"Thanks for this."_

_"Of course. I know talent when I see it, I am a Bartowski you know."_

_"I do." She began to walk away, but turned back around before fully leaving the roof. "You wanna grab a beer after the shift?"_

_"Uh, sure."_

_"Cool."_

_"Yeah, cool."_

_"I'll find you." She walked back into the hospital, feeling something other than frustration with Chuck for once. Maybe being friends with him wouldn't be so bad after all._

* * *

Five hours into surgery was Sarah's highlight. Usually after five hours, she hit her second wind, seeing everything clearer and working faster. With any normal surgeon, their hands and feet would start to tire, no matter how many years they had been performing countless numbers of surgeries.

"Uh oh, Walker has officially hit her mark." Bryce joked.

"Shut up and just work on that ankle." Sarah playfully sassed. Her pager started to buzz, but she ignored it as usual. After the third time, she asked an intern to check it. "Roberts, can you get that?"

"It's a 911 from a Sydney." The intern responded, unaware that Sydney was Sarah's daughter.

"I need to step out for a moment, someone call Johnson just in case." She left the OR, grabbing the phone perched on the wall of the scrub-in room.

"Sarah?" Sydney's voice was distraught on the other end.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"What's going on?"

"My friend is here."

"At SoCal Gen?"

"Yes, and she's six and she's in really bad shape and Chuck won't take her-"

"Syd, slow down. What do you mean Chuck won't take her? He won't do surgery?"

"He already did surgery. I mean he won't adopt her. Someone has to adopt her."

"Oh...a kid is a lot of work." Sarah couldn't think of anything better to say.

"So you won't take her either?"

"I'm barely able to take care of you." She was genuinely sympathetic.

"I hate you." The words rang in Sarah's ear for a moment, before the sound of the other line clicking snapped her back into focus.

"Sydney?" No answer. Sarah took a deep breath, going back into the OR.

"Everything okay?" Bryce asked.

"Fine." She dug her hands back into the patient, getting back to work. After two more hours in surgery, she finished up.

"Yeah, uh you," She pointed to a resident, "You close." She took her gloves off, cleaning her hands in the sink.

"You sure you're okay?" It was just her and Bryce at this point.

"I have to go over to SoCal. Will you make sure Johnson covers anything that happens while I'm gone? I don't have anymore surgeries today but I'm nervous about Mrs. Carlton's heart. He has her charts."

"I'll let him know."

"Thank you."

"Sarah." Bryce grabbed her arm as she turned to leave. "Don't shut me out."

"I'm not shutting you out. I really have no clue what's going on right now, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"I'll be here all night."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." Bryce watched as his girlfriend left the room, feeling somewhat left out for the first time since they had gotten together.

* * *

**2005**

_Chuck had no other feeling than nervousness while sitting at the bar stool at the counter of Clark's. It was the bar closest to the hospital, only being a block away. Drunken interns were seen dancing and trying to play darts, while Chuck sat calmly with a beer in his hand._

_"Hey, sorry I'm late." Sarah sat down next to the curly-haired nerd, smiling at him. "Just a beer please." She said to the bartender._

_"I thought you were going to stand me up." Chuck forced a laugh._

_"Ellie had me do a lot today. She's definitely punishing me."_

_"She'll get over it."_

_"You think so?"_

_"I think everyone will get over it. So you messed up, what's the big deal? You're an intern. Intern's mess up."_

_"I guess so. It's just really new for me." She looked at Chuck. "So is this actually."_

_"What? Going out for drinks with a coworker?"_

_"Becoming friends with a guy. I'm not saying I get around, but I don't have any guy friends."_

_"Just guy booty calls."_

_"That sounds so trashy."_

_"Call them what you want, they're still the same thing." Chuck didn't have to force his laugh this time as Sarah playfully punched him in the arm._

_"What about you? Do you have a bunch of girls lined up?"_

_"Me?"_

_"You're the only one sitting here."_

_"I'm not much of a ladies man."_

_"Why not?"_

_"My family had me focus on my career."_

_"Makes sense."_

_"I had a serious girlfriend once. Jill."_

_"Jill? That's an old school name."_

_"She was perfect." Chuck took a swig of his drink._

_"What happened?"_

_"I went to Stanford, she went to Yale."_

_"You're talking high school?"_

_"So?"_

_"Have you dated anyone since then?"_

_"Not really. I've had outings."_

_"You've had outings?"_

_"You know."_

_"No, I don't. What's an outing?" Sarah knew perfectly well what he meant, but she liked seeing him squirm._

_"You're really going to make me say it?"_

_"I sure am."_

_"One night stands. I've had plenty of one night stands. Happy?"_

_"Happy." Sarah smiled and took a giant gulp from the glass in her right hand. "I want to get drunk, but you can't hold it against me."_

_"I wouldn't dare."_

_"I think I deserve it. With all of the shit I'm getting at the hospital? I should be able to get drunk."_

_"If you're not on-call, I say go for it."_

_"You in?"_

_"I usually cap myself at two." He raised his glass slightly._

_"Oh come on, you're a Bartowski. Live a little." She gave him a determined look._

_"Fine, but if I drink myself to death, I'm suing you."_

_"You can't sue me if you're dead."_

_"True, but I can haunt you."_

_"Just drink." The two spent the rest of the night drinking and sharing med school stories, especially ones filled with parties and not taking school seriously._

_"I was the guy who took school too seriously." Chuck slurred. "I had to make my dad happy."_

_"I studied, but I partied too." Sarah hiccupped._

_"You probably had tons of boyfriends."_

_"Not a one."_

_"Not even one?"_

_"Why is that so hard to believe? I'm an independent woman."_

_"But you're also the most beautiful woman in the world."_

_"What?" Sarah snapped back into reality for a moment, while Chuck stayed in his blurred mind._

_"You're so pretty." He smiled, playing with Sarah's hair._

_"Maybe we should call it a night."_

_"What? We just got started."_

_"We work tomorrow, this wasn't such a great idea." She placed a $20 on the bar, and helped Chuck up._

_"I'm not very good with drinking." He laughed._

_"I should've listened to you." She laughed back. Luckily enough, there were taxi's waiting outside the bar for any bar patron unable to drive home. "You gonna be okay?"_

_"I'll be fine." He looked into her eyes, leaning up against the back door of the vibrant yellow car._

_"Thank you for letting me vent. I could've gone to Zondra, but you're just as good I guess."_

_"You aren't so bad yourself, Sarah."_

_"Here," Sarah took Chuck's phone and put her number in it. "Text me when you get home."_

_"Wow, Sarah Walker gave me her phone number. I'm honored."_

_"Just get home safe." As soon as the words left her mouth, Chuck's lips collided with hers. She was extremely tense at first, not wanting to let herself feel vulnerable with him. But after a few seconds, it turned into a full blown make-out._

_"Night." He released her, falling into his taxi, leaving a stunned Sarah Walker standing outside the bar._

* * *

Sarah burst into SoCal General Hospital in a frenzy. What the hell had happened in a few short hours to make her daughter hate her? She took the elevator to the fourth floor, knowing that Chuck's specialty was located there. Thankfully Chuck was only standing a few feet away when the doors opened.

"Chuck." She looked to her ex.

"We need to talk." He said, not wasting a second.

"I was going to say the exact same thing." She laughed, quickly recovering once she noticed his shady demeanor. "What?"

"Follow me." He led her into a vacant on-call room, locking the door behind them.

"This is too familiar."

"I'm not playing around here, Sarah."

"What's wrong with you?" He had never been so direct with her.

"What's wrong with me is that my daughter grew up in a hell hole, and you put her there." Chuck was already at one-hundred.

"What are you talking about?"

"There's a six-year-old here from Cloudyvale."

"Yeah, Syd called me."

"What did she say?"

"She said that you wouldn't adopt a kid, and that I should, but I told her I couldn't."

"Her name is Gracie."

"Sorry."

"This isn't about Gracie." Chuck placed a hand on his forehead. "This is about Sydney."

"Okay, then calm down and talk to me. We've always been good at that."

"Apparently not." He snapped. "Look, you should've told me you were pregnant."

"I thought we were passed this." Sarah groaned.

"Well, we aren't. Sydney grew up without any love or care and it's your fault!"

"Sorry that I didn't want to raise a child on my own."

"You didn't have to!"

"Yes I did!"

"Why couldn't I have helped you?" The surgeons were now screaming at each other.

"Because you left!" Sarah blurted. Silence washed over them both, neither of them making eye contact.

"I thought I was doing the right thing." Chuck whispered.

"You weren't." Sarah looked up. "We can't change it. We can't go back in time. We've got to focus on the present, because our daughter needs us."

"That's why I wanted to talk."

"Great, so let's actually talk." Sarah put her hands on her hips.

"I want full custody."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"What makes you think I'm going to agree to that?"

"I'm not asking you to agree. I'm fully prepared to fight you."

"Chuck, use your brain. She's with me ninety percent of the time, and I'm her mother."

"I'm her father, and you took that right."

"You're upset. Take a few days and you'll settle down."

"You know, for the first time in my life I'm actually thinking clearly. I want to spend the rest of her life making everything up to her. Everything you ruined."

"That's funny. From what I remember, you walked out on me. _You_ ruined _me_, Chuck."

"Funny how you remember things, isn't it? You'll be hearing from me soon." He unlocked the door and left. Sarah didn't give herself time to dwell on what Chuck had just told her, but instead searched the hospital for her daughter. She found Sydney on the roof of the building, sitting far enough a way from the helipad.

"I thought I'd find you up here." Sarah sat next to Sydney.

"Not a very good hiding spot I guess."

"I used to hide up on the roof."

"You did?"

"Oh yeah. My internship was mostly spent on the roof of a hospital. We're a lot alike, you and I."

"Like everyone keeps saying." Sydney grumbled.

"I stole your friends chart." Sarah held up a clipboard full of medical jargon.

"What does it say?"

"Cliff notes version; she's going to be just fine. I had my appendix taken out when I was ten."

"Were you alone?"

"No, my mom was with me."

"She doesn't have a mom. She has Agnes."

"Agnes?"

"Our head mistress."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't help her."

"I'm sorry for putting you there."

"It is what it is."

"No, it's not. I was young and scared, and I know it isn't an excuse, but I didn't think I could do it alone."

"I get it."

"Do you though?"

"I'm not interested in your excuses."

"I know."

"If you know, then why won't you stop trying to make them? You didn't want me, you gave me up, you got the career you wanted."

"That's not fair."

"Don't even get me started on fair."

"Be mad at me all you want, but we're going home."

"I'm going to stay with Gracie."

"Says who?"

"Says me. I don't really want to see you or Chuck right now."

"That's not a choice you get to make. I'm your mother, and you get to listen to me."

"Please, Sarah, just leave me alone. I've never asked you for anything, just let me have this." Sydney looked at her with more desperation than Sarah had ever seen in her life.

"Fine. You can stay here tonight, but tomorrow I'm coming back."

"Fine."

"I did want you, by the way. The moment I held you, I never wanted to let you go."

"Then why did you?"

"Because Chuck broke my heart, and I couldn't live with a constant reminder. As terrible as that sounds, it's the truth. One day I'll really explain it to you, and I hope you never truly feel your heart break. It sucks." Sarah left her daughter alone, thinking of possible lawyers to call in the morning. Chuck had started something he wasn't going to be able to finish.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I realized recently that I'm a dialogue writer, and I'm not the best with the details. I like finding the voices of the characters as I write them, which is why I focus mainly on the dialogue portion. I'll put more of the past in the next chapter, but I felt like the present was important for this round! As always, thank you guys for reading!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Sydney spent the night sleeping next to Gracie, making sure that she was as comfortable as possible in such an unknown place. All Sydney could feel was guilt, even though Chuck assured her there was nothing she could've done. The next morning was a good one, as Gracie looked much better.

"I'm sorry that I can't help you." She told her friend.

"It's okay. I'll get adopted." Gracie was the most optimistic person Sydney had ever known.

"It's not okay. I have two perfectly wealthy and capable parents."

"I like your dad." Gracie smiled, feeling better.

"A lot of people do."

"You don't?"

"I do."

"Then why does your face look sad?"

"I just wish they could take you too."

"Did they meet Agnes?"

"Chuck did."

"And?"

"He scared the crap out of her, that's for sure."

"What's your mom like?" Gracie blurted. "I've always wanted a mom."

"My mom? She's like me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, it's kinda scary how alike we are." Mid-way through the sentence, Chuck had started to enter the room, but stayed outside listening to everything.

"Like looks or everything?"

"Everyone I meet says I look like her. Except my smile. I have Chuck's smile. But Sarah? She's pretty great. I'm still mad at her, but I love her too now."

"What does she do?"

"She's a surgeon, like Chuck. But she works on hearts."

"Wow, that's cool." Gracie's eyes sparkled.

"Morning, girls." Chuck chose this moment to walk in.

"Chuck!" Gracie got excited.

"Your charts look good this morning." He smiled at her.

"Does that mean she has to go home?" Sydney asked.

"Not quite. I want to give it a few more days." He nodded at his daughter. "But, you do have school. You can miss today, but tomorrow you have to go back okay?"

"Okay. Thank you."

"You bet. Come find me if you need anything. I'll be in surgery a little later, but if anything serious happens I'll be here."

"We will." Sydney smiled at her father. After he left, she decided to call Sarah. The previous night had been somewhat of a disaster with her, and she wanted to clear the air. Plus, she wanted her mom to meet her best friend.

"How're things going this morning?" Sarah showed up about an hour after Sydney called, bringing doughnuts for the girls. She wasn't able to stay long, as she was on her way to work.

"Good."

"Good. You must be Gracie." Sarah smiled at the little girl.

"You really do look like Sydney." Gracie said in awe.

"I told her everyone says that." Sydney said.

"They do." Sarah agreed. "I have strong genes." She winked.

"You're a heart doctor?" Gracie asked.

"I am."

"Does my heart work right?"

"I'm sure it does."

"Sometimes I think it stops."

"Why do you think that?"

"When I hold my breath, it does a funny rhythm."

"Can I check it for you?"

"Would you?"

"Sure." Sarah grabbed her stethoscope out of her medical bag. She knew that she hadn't needed it, but it had become instinct to carry it anywhere. She checked Gracie thoroughly, making sure to hear everything. "It sounds fine." She smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Sarah looked to Sydney. "I should get going."

"Right."

"Call me later and I'll come pick you up."

"Will do." Sarah left as quickly as she had come, and Sydney followed her out to the elevator before she got on. "Hey Sarah!"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted t apologize for yesterday."

"There's no need. You're worried about your friend, I get it."

"Yeah, but we're getting along and I don't want to ruin it."

"We're supposed to fight. I think it's an unspoken rule of mothers and daughters." Sarah laughed. The elevator doors opened, revealing the face of a livid Agnes.

"You again." She seethed towards Sydney.

"Can I help you?" Sarah frowned.

"I take it you're the mother."

"I'm sorry?"

"Lucky you got rid of this brat." She kept her eyes on Sydney.

"Who the hell do you think you are to talk to her like that?"

"Doesn't matter now. You've taken her off my hands." Agnes walked away, not looking back.

"That's the woman who runs Cloudyvale."

"What?"

"It's fine. I don't have to worry about her anymore, but Gracie does."

"I left you with her?"

"You're gonna be late for work."

"I'm not thinking about work right now. She's the one who looked after you?"

"If you can call it that."

"I'm sorry." And she meant it.

* * *

Sarah couldn't focus on any of her surgeries for the rest of the day. All she could think about was the awful person she had let raise her daughter, and the fact that Chuck was apparently going to fight for custody didn't help either. He called right before she went into a triple bypass, and it slightly threw off her game. After work, Sarah picked Sydney up from Chuck's hospital, and brought her straight home. Sleeping in a hospital certainly wasn't ideal.

"Can I come in?" Sarah stood in the doorway of Sydney's room. She let Sydney keep to herself, not wanting to crowd her while she was worrying for her friend.

"Sure." Sydney was sitting at her desk, buried in a mountain of math homework.

"We have a lot to talk about." Sarah made her way to Sydney's bed, sitting on the side closest to the desk.

"I've got a lot of homework."

"Syd-"

"What?" Sydney sassed. "I don't feel like talking."

"Is it because you saw that woman again?" Sarah sat on the edge of Sydney's bed, choosing the side closest to her desk.

"Kinda."

"She's terrible."

"You can say that again."

"If I would've known-"

"What? You would've given me to a different home?"

"Yes." Sarah said as a whisper. "I need to ask you something."

"Okay."

"Do you want to be here? I know that we're making good progress, but I don't want to fight if you're unhappy here."

"Are you talking about Chuck wanting custody?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"He yells pretty loud when he talks to you."

"I've noticed."

"But is it? About that?"

"Yeah. If you want to take time away from me or just want to be with him, I understand."

"You're giving me up again?" The words hung in the air for what seemed like forever.

"No, that's not what I meant." She grabbed her daughter's hands. "If I've learned anything over these past few months, it's that I would do anything for you. I want to do what's best for you, but I need you to be honest with me. You don't have to dance around how you feel."

"You really want to know how I feel?"

"Yeah." Sarah smiled slightly.

"I hated you. I did. I would stay up at night and hope you had died because why would you give me up if you were alive? But I don't hate you anymore. I love you. And I don't want to love you. It's easier to hate you, because if I hate you then I can't be disappointed when you get rid of me again."

"I don't ever plan on letting you go again, unless it's what you really want. I only want you to be happy."

"I'm happy with you both. I don't want to be a split family. I finally have two parents and I want it to stay that way."

"Then we'll make it stay that way."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"You have to promise me that you'll tell me the truth."

"I'll try my best."

"What really happened between you guys? It's time for me to know. and I want to know the real version."

"We started out as rivals, then we became friends, then we fell in love, then we ended things."

"But why?"

"Because we did."

"Why do you hate talking about it so much?"

"It ruined me." Sarah looked down.

"I'm sorry." Sydney hadn't seen her mother in pain before now, and she didn't like the sight. "Maybe you guys can be friends again?"

"I wish it were that easy." Sarah half-smiled at her daughter.

"Will you promise me something?"

"I'll try my best." Sarah said with a laugh, repeating what she had said before.

"Promise me that this is forever. That I'll always have you and Chuck."

"Kid, that I can promise you. You're stuck with us, and I wouldn't have it any other way." In that moment, Sarah knew that everything would be okay. No matter what the outcome with the custody battle, she knew that her child loved her, despite what she had done.

* * *

Even though it was late, Sarah went to SoCal General, looking for Chuck. She needed to figure all of this out sooner rather than later. She was tired of taking two steps back and only one step forward with her daughter. She couldn't find Chuck, but Morgan was kind enough to tell her exactly where he went.

"He's at Clark's. Rough day." The small bearded man stated.

"Thanks, Morgan." She walked there, trying to clear her head and thinking about what to say. She walked in with confidence, as she always did when entering a space, but felt a wave of nervousness as he sat next to her ex.

"Are you stalking me now?" Chuck to a swig of his beer, and set it back down onto the counter.

"This is a public place." Sarah stated.

"What're you doing here, Sarah?" Chuck sighed.

"You're drunk."

"Says who?"

"The four bottles in front of you."

"I'm pissed."

"I get it."

"Do you?" Chuck looked at the blonde. "I've been treating this kid since she was two."

"This is about a patient?"

"She's gone."

"Chuck..." Sarah placed a hand on his. "How old was she?"

"Seven."

"How?"

"Tumors."

"There's nothing you could've done."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I came here to talk to you about Syd." She switched subjects quickly.

"What about her?"

"Drop the case."

"Excuse me?"

"She doesn't want to be split between us. I'm sorry that I made a stupid decision so long ago, but this is now. We have to do what's best for her."

"Sarah, you fed her to the dogs."

"I met Agnes."

"Did you?"

"I did. I know I messed up."

"Well that's great. A little late though, don't you think?"

"At least she had shelter and food and friends."

"That's not the point!"

'What is the point then?"

"We would've been great together!" Chuck erupted. "The three of us, I mean."

"That's what this is about?"

"I can't let it go, Sarah. You should have told me."

"And you should have warned me about the grant."

"I didn't think I had a shot."

"You're an incredible doctor, and your last name can get you through any door that opens. Of course you were going to get the grant."

"I would've chosen you. I tried to choose you."

"If I had said yes to your proposal, we would've ended up regretting it."

"That wasn't your decision to make."

"When you went to New York, what did you feel?"

"Hurt." He hiccupped.

"Chuck." Sarah raised an eyebrow. "How did you feel in that hospital?"

"I felt like I deserved to be there. I felt like I was supposed to be there."

"Okay then, I was right."

"I also felt like shit. We would have made it work. Why were you so quick to give up?"

"Hey you, I've been looking all over for you." Lou walked up to Chuck, planting a kiss on his lips right in front of Sarah.

"I've been in the same spot."

"Lucy Jacob's parents wanted to talk to you, but you're obviously not in a state to hold a serious conversation."

"I failed them already anyway, what's the point of trying to fix things now?"

"It wasn't your fault." Lou ran a hand through his hair. "I've got him from here." She looked to Sarah.

"Right." Sarah stood up. "Will you please re-think the custody case? You can I can figure things out on our own, and we shouldn't be putting our daughter through this. She's been through enough, don't you think?"

"I think you should go." Lou said.

"I think you should let Chuck and I discuss our child on our own." Sarah stared daggers into the petite brunette.

"I'll call you." Chuck mumbled. Sarah took her time leaving the bar, as she wasn't afraid of Lou in the slightest. Each time they talked, she and Chuck grew closer and closer to figuring out what really happened between them all those years ago. It scared her, mostly because she didn't want to feel what she had felt before. She had only really just gotten over it, and now the box was being re-opened.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: It's been a while for this one. I lost my creative flow for a while, but I'm slowly finding it again. I can't believe I'm already on Chapter 9 with this fic! Seems like I just started writing it yesterday...anyway, enjoy this latest chapter of Chuck vs The Unexpected!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

**2005**

_Chuck and Sarah both had to work the day after the outing at the bar, although Chuck was fuzzy on the details of what had happened. Sarah, however, remembered everything._

_"He kissed you? Like, full on?"_

_"Full on."_

_"And?"_

_"And what?"_

_"Was he good?"_

_"Seriously, Zondra?"_

_"What? Can't a girl get some details?"_

_"Let's just say I've never been kissed like that before. Ever."_

_"Damn! Bartowski has some game, who knew?"_

_"Can you keep it to yourself? I'm hoping we can just forget about it."_

_"Sarah. You two have had some serious sexual tension from day one. You really expect to just let it go?"_

_"We have not."_

_"Oh please. He practically undresses you with his eyes every day."_

_"He does not!"_

_"What're we talking about?" Chuck and Morgan appeared, side by side._

_"Uh, nothing." Sarah stammered._

_"Still hung over are we?" Chuck laughed._

_"From what?" Morgan was curious._

_"We went out for drinks last night." Chuck replied._

_"Yeah, got drunk and went home." Sarah added._

_"I still don't even remember leaving." Chuck rubbed the back of his head._

_"I put you in a taxi and you left." _

_"Well thank you, I don't do that very often."_

_"Obviously." Sarah laughed._

_"Hey! Would you quit screwing around and get to work?" Ellie's voice penetrated their conversation. The four scattered, but Ellie caught up with Sarah before she could make it very far. "Can I talk to you for a second?"_

_"Sure. What's up?" Sarah was fully prepared to be humiliated again._

_"I wanted to apologize."_

_"What for?"_

_"Interns mess up, and as a resident I'm supposed to make sure it doesn't happen. I failed you, not the other way around."_

_"You didn't fail me. I don't mess up."_

_"You should get used to it, that way when it happens you aren't so hard on yourself. I was having an off day, and I took it out on you."_

_"It's fine, Ellie, really."_

_"Good." Ellie smiled. "Did I hear Chuck say that you went out for drinks?"_

_"Uh, yeah."_

_"And?"_

_"And what? We're friends."_

_"Friends? Really?" Ellie raised an eyebrow._

_"What else would we be?"_

_"I'm not going to get involved, but I think we both know the answer to that question."_

* * *

Every time Sarah needed to clear her mind of everything happening in her life, she used surgery as an outlet. Something about the feel of a beating heart in her hands soothed her, calmed her. Having Chuck in her life brought back more than just memories. The emotional Novocaine protecting her feelings was wearing off slowly but surely, and she wasn't sure how much she could actually handle.

"You okay?" Bryce appeared beside her, rinsing his hands off in the surgical sink.

"Fine." She smiled in his direction. "Good work in there."

"Really? We have a weird fight-like talk and you're going with a compliment?" He asked.

"It wasn't a fight."

"It sure wasn't an adult conversation either."

"You're right, and I'm sorry."

"So do you want to have a conversation now?"

"Not really." Was her short reply.

"I thought I understood you, but I guess I don't."

"What does that mean?"

"Why can't you open up to me? All I'm asking is for you to tell me what you're thinking or feeling, and you won't do it."

"It's not that I won't do it, it's just hard to revisit the past. It wasn't a great time for me."

"I get that, I do, but at some point you're going to have to deal with it. And I'm hoping that I'm the one who gets to help you through it."

"We'll talk later. I promise, okay? At home."

"Sure." He left the room, avoiding eye contact. Sarah sighed, not wanting to get into anything with Bryce. She liked being in a secure relationship, but knew that bringing up the past would undoubtedly shift things.

"What was that about?" Zondra was always lurking around after an important talk between Sarah and a beau.

"Nothing."

"Sure looked like nothing."

"I don't know if I can keep doing this."

"Again?"

"It's hard, Z."

"Who told you relationships were easy?"

"No one."

"Exactly. You love him, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"Okay then. That's all you need."

"But what if it isn't enough? I don't know if I can give him what he needs."

* * *

Chuck knew he was built to be a dad. He loved helping the kids at the hospital, and had a special connection with every single one of them. But something about actually having a child was different. He was having a hard time connecting with Sydney, and the custody case wasn't necessarily helping.

"Sleep okay?" Chuck asked his daughter as she shuffled into the kitchen.

"Like a baby." She smiled.

"I hope you don't mind, but I have a meeting today and I have to leave you here alone. It should only be for an hour or two."

"It's fine, I'm basically an adult." This made Chuck laugh.

"You're fifteen, that's hardly an adult."

"I'll be fine."

"Great." He usually kept the small-talk early in the mornings.

"It doesn't have to do with the whole custody thing does it?"

"Actually, it does."

"Why? Why are you doing this to her?"

"You're defending what she did? I thought you of all people would agree with me on this."

"I don't."

"Why?"

"Because I spent fifteen years without a mom, please don't make me go without one again." Sydney pleaded.

"I know it's hard for you to understand, but I have to do this. And I'm doing it for you."

"If you were doing it for me, you wouldn't be doing it at all. I know she did something that you don't agree with, but it was so long ago. She's really trying now."

"What happens when she gets too stressed out or tired of having you around, huh?" The words hit Sydney like a freight train.

"She wouldn't."

"You're one-hundred percent sure?"

"Why are you being so mean? This doesn't just affect you, you know!" Tears welled in Sydney's eyes as she turned to leave the kitchen.

"I'm doing this for you." Chuck whispered. He couldn't bring himself to forgive Sarah for what she had done. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Just a second!" He called, walking through the main hallway outside the kitchen to the front door.

"Hi stranger." Lou's smile greeted him.

"Hey you." He kissed her quickly.

"I come bearing food." Lou held up a bag of groceries, sliding past Chuck and into the apartment. "I thought you could use some chocolate chip pancakes before the meeting."

"That was really thoughtful." Chuck watched her place the bag on the counter by the stove as he entered the kitchen behind her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Syd and I kinda got into it a few minutes ago."

"Why?"

"She's mad that I want full custody."

"Even after what Sarah did?"

"I guess so. I don't get it, Sarah basically abandoned her, didn't tell me, and to top it all off, a crazy sadistic Mrs. Hannigan type woman raised her."

"Maybe you should try listening to her side of it."

"I said some things."

"Chuck..."

"I should go talk to her."

"Good idea."

"Make sure you put extra butter on mine." He smiled, leaving the kitchen once more. "Syd?" He knocked on her door twice. "I'm sorry for-" As he pushed the door open, he realized she wasn't in the room. "Syd?" He yelled. No answer. His lawyer was going to have a field day with this.

* * *

After a morning full of patients, Sarah was beyond exhausted. Finding an empty on-call room to sleep in was becoming harder and harder to do with all of the new interns running around. She noticed the door open to the nearest one, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Doc, you've got someone waiting for you in the lobby." One of Sarah's favorite nurses ruined her moment of happiness.

"You're kidding." She whined.

"Sorry." The nurse gave her a sympathetic look. Sarah made her way to the lobby, choosing the elevator over the stairs. Te first face she noticed when she entered the main lobby was her daughter's. "Syd?" She asked, getting closer.

"Hey." The teen looked miserable.

"You okay? Why aren't you with Chuck?"

"I don't want to live with him."

"He doesn't know you're here, does he?"

"No..." She looked down.

"Sydney." Sarah used her "mommy-tone".

"He's going to take me away from you. Do you care?"

"Of course I do," Sarah sat next to her daughter, "I have one of the best lawyers in California. Look, he's not going to get full custody no matter how hard he tries. I won't let it happen."

"What if you get tired of me?"

"What?"

"This morning I kinda got into a fight with him and he said-"

"He said what?" Sarah interrupted.

"He was mad but it made me think. What happens if you get sick of me?"

"Syd, look at me." The two made eye contact. "I am not going anywhere. I promise. But I need you to start believing me when I say it. There's no way I could ever leave you again. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Say it again."

"Yes I believe you." Sydney laughed.

"Good. Now call him and tell him where you are." As soon as Chuck got the message, he rushed to LA Hope. He didn't necessarily want to run into Sarah, but he needed to get Sydney.

"I didn't know she was coming here." Sarah stood up once she saw Chuck.

"I know." Was his short reply.

"Can we talk?"

"I don't-"

"Please." She looked at him with a certain sadness that made him cave.

"Yeah." The two surgeons walked away from their daughter.

"I've been thinking a lot, and I think you're making a mistake." Sarah started.

"Really? That's what you're going to say to me?"

"Just hear me out." She gave him a slight frown.

"Go ahead." He groaned.

"I think you're making a mistake because she needs us both. Have you talked to her about it? She doesn't want to be split up. Honestly, I don't know that I could be without her now that I know what it's like to have her at all. And I know I'm the one who gave her up, I know I should've told you, but I'm so tired of fighting."

"I don't think I can forgive you, Sarah."

"I'm not asking you to. We both have our reasons, we both see the story different ways. But I think we can at least try to get along, we've done it before."

"Yeah, when our biggest challenge was who could be the better surgeon."

"And now our biggest challenge is raising our daughter. We can do it. Please just drop the suit."

"Okay." He said after a long pause.

"Okay?"

"You're her mom. No matter how mad I am at you for doing what you did, she needs you. You're right."

"She needs you too, don't forget that."

"I'll talk to her tonight."

"Chuck?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Sarah gave him a slight smile. She didn't know why he changed his mind so quickly, but she wasn't going to argue.

* * *

**_2005_**

_"Long day?" Sarah asked, seeing Chuck falling asleep while standing._

_"You could say that. I'm just waiting for my patient's lab results." He smiled._

_"You can't still be hung over?" Sarah laughed._

_"Definitely not."_

_"You really don't drink very often, do you?" _

_"Nope. I don't have the time, honestly."_

_"Well, it was fun seeing you let loose a little." She started to walk away, but Chuck lightly grabbed her by the arm._

_"I remember what happened." He said._

_"I'm trying to forget." She joked._

_"No you're not. I felt it too."_

_"Chuck-"_

_"No excuses. Admit it."_

_"There's nothing to admit." She looked into his eyes, realizing how close together they were._

_"Yes there is."_

_"What happened was a drunken fluke. It shouldn't have happened."_

_"You really mean that?"_

_"Chuck, we can't be anything more than friends. We work together."_

_"Oh please, everyone dates their co-workers."_

_"Date? Who said anything about dating?"_

_"I want to take you out."_

_"I can't."_

_"Yes, you can. One date. If it's horrible, we can forget it ever happened and move on. One date, Sarah. And I promise you I kiss better sober than drunk." He laughed._

_"Fine. One date." She looked down._

_"See? I knew you felt it too."_

_"I have to go." Her pager started beeping._

_"I'll see you later." He released her arm, and watched her run down the hall. He picked up his lab results, and started to look them over, when a voice made him look up._

_"Just for the record," Sarah looked around quickly, then leaned into Chuck for another amazing kiss like the night before. "If this doesn't work out, I'm not talking to you ever again." She turned around and ran away once more. Chuck had no idea what he was in for, but he couldn't wait to find out._


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry this one has taken me so long to update! The writing bug bit me tonight, so I was able to crank out a chapter. This one is a tad shorter than the rest, but it should still be enough to satisfy the readers. I decided to keep this entire chapter in the present, because I don't want to get _too_ caught up in the past. I think the family dynamic is something I want to dive deeper into. As always, thank you for reading! Don't forget to comment what you think! Enjoy :)**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Sleep wasn't something surgeons got often. Their sleep was almost always hard earned and received after countless hours of saving lives. Sarah's schedule was so crammed that she could only find two hours at times. She had performed her last surgery of the evening, and had only sat down on a free gurney in the hallway to shut her eyes before driving home.

"Mom?" Sydney's voice caused Sarah to open her eyes.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Sarah replied, sitting up and stretching.

"Chuck dropped me off. He had an emergency surgery."

"Lucky for him, my schedule is free." She smiled.

"Sorry I woke you up. I know sleep is important."

"It's okay, I've been out for a while. Probably time for me to wake up anyway." Sarah replied, checking her watch.

"Okay, good. I don't know if there's such a thing as being grounded for waking up a surgeon."

"In this family, I wouldn't be surprised." Sarah joked. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"Sure. I have a lot of homework to do."

"I was thinking we could do something together."

"Like what?"

"I'm not too sure. Where's your favorite place?"

"It used to be the roof of the girls home." Sydney looked down, causing a pang of guilt to hit Sarah.

"What about now?"

"I haven't really found another place I like as much."

"How about I take you to my favorite place?" Sarah asked.

"Okay." A smile spread across Sydney's face.

"Let me check on a few things before we go." Sarah got up and made her way to the nurse's station on the floor.

"Hey, I've been looking for you." Bryce seemed to stalk her these days.

"I fell asleep, sorry." She grabbed a chart from a slot in the desk, checking it over.

"We haven't had that talk yet."

"I know, it's been crazy around here."

"Sarah," He smacked his hand on the chart, "I can't keep doing this. If you want to avoid me permanently, just tell me."

"I'm really overwhelmed right now, Bryce. I need more time."

"And I can give that to you, but we have _got_ to start talking."

"We will, I promise."

"Are you off?"

"Yeah, Chuck dropped Syd off because he had a last minute surgery I guess, so I'm going to take her for the night."

"Right."

"Hey," Sarah put her hand on his face gently, "We'll talk."

"Sure. See you around." Bryce walked away, obviously defeated.

"Trouble in paradise?" Sydney asked, causing Sarah to jump.

"Jesus, you scared me."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Bryce and I are fine."

"You call that fine? Wow, I've been told wrong."

"Let's go, sassy." Sarah let out a playful huff, pushing her daughter towards the elevator gently.

"Where are we going, exactly?"

"You'll see."

* * *

The victims of a mass shooting had been sent to the hospital, and all surgeons were in panic mode. The beds were filling up faster than patients were being discharged, and the casualty rate spiked with each passing minute.

"Chuck! I need some help over here!" Ellie's voice was clear over the chaos.

"What do you have?"

"Drew Wexler, nine years old, mass internal bleeding. He says he was trampled." Ellie looked down at the child in the bed.

"Parents?"

"Not yet. But we need to get him in the OR fast."

"Do we have anything open?" Chuck looked to the nurse at the bedside.

"I think OR 4 just opened up."

"Let's go." Chuck led the way as they rushed the boy up to the OR.

"You got it?"

"Of course, El. Go find a brain injury to fix." Chuck joked, scrubbing in to the surgery. Once he was ready, he took position. "Scalpel. We're going to need a lot of suction and packing, let's get it ready. Hang three units of O neg." The repairs took about an hour and a half, but they were able to save the child's life. Chuck sighed as he took of his gloves and cap.

"Lose one?" Lou passed by, looking tired and sad.

"No, saved one actually." Chuck gave her a slight smile. "You?"

"I've already amputated two legs, an arm, and a foot. Lots of shelving fell when people were scrambling to get out of the grocery store."

"Damn."

"You can say that again." Lou leaned against the wall next to her boyfriend.

"Why would anyone open fire on a random store?"

"I don't know. Why would anyone vote for Donald Trump as president?"

"Touche." The two laughed together for a moment. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make me laugh when I'm feeling my worst."

"It's a talent I guess." He gave her a quick kiss.

"A great one. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'll see you later?"

"Absolutely, go slay those limbs." He winked.

"I'm sure I will." She sighed, disappearing around the corner.

"Hey, Drew Wexler's mom is here." Ellie stood in front of her brother. "He made it out, right?"

"Yeah, show me where she is." Chuck followed the female Bartowski to the lobby of the pediatric ward, where a frantic red-head was waiting.

"Mrs. Wexler? I'm Dr. Bartowski, I operated on your son."

"Is he okay?"

"He had a lot of internal bleeding, but we took care of it. He should make a full recovery, but we need to keep him here for a few days."

"Oh thank you!" The woman hugged Chuck tighter than he had ever been hugged before. He spotted Morgan with a somber face, giving bad news to a family in the next lobby over. He waited until the conversation was finished before making his way over to his friend.

"Rough one?" Chuck asked, clapping Morgan on the shoulder.

"I lost a teenager to a gunshot wound." Morgan hung his head.

"Days like these are tough, but tomorrow will be better."

"Maybe not this time. You should've seen her parents." The bearded man walked away, obviously needing some time to himself. Chuck stood in the middle of the lobby for a moment, realizing just how close to home this was. His own daughter could've been at that store, shot, dead. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

* * *

Car rides were Sydney's favorite. Just sitting in silence and watching the trees disappear behind her made her feel calm and relaxed. She wasn't a fan of the radio, which was why she liked Sarah's car the most. Chuck was always playing some upbeat rock and roll song.

"What're you thinking about?" Sarah asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Nothing. I just like looking out the window."

"I used to like watching the trees. They're kind of endless."

"I think the city is my favorite though. People watching is interesting to say the least." Sydney laughed. "Are we almost there?"

"Almost."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Always."

"Are you and Bryce really okay?"

"Syd, if there was something going on that would affect you, I would tell you. Trust me."

"I do."

"You what?"

"Trust you. I do."

"Good." Sarah let a wave of relief wash over her. She hadn't heard that from Sydney yet, and didn't know that she ever would.

"I missed a call from Chuck."

"Did he leave a voicemail?"

"Doesn't look like it. Should I call him back?"

"You don't need my permission to call your dad." Sarah said, watching her daughter dial out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, sorry I missed your call. Uh, I'm not really sure, Sarah is taking me to some top secret place."

"Is he okay?" Sarah whispered.

"Are you okay?" Sydney repeated. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll see you tomorrow though, right? Okay good. Yeah, talk to you later." She hung up the phone.

"What did he say?"

"There was a really big shooting somewhere and a lot of people are dead."

"Right, I think they took the victims from the Target shooting."

"Why would someone do that?"

"I couldn't tell you."

"I think it's really cool that you and Chuck save people. I don't know if I've told you that."

"You haven't." Sarah smiled. She put her brakes on slowly, pulling into an empty parking lot.

"The beach?" Sydney asked, noticing the water ahead.

"I used to come here all the time."

"I don't like the beach."

"Why not?"

"I can't swim. The water is so deep and you can't see the bottom. Plus, there's sharks."

"Not this close to the shore. We don't have to go in, we can sit on the sand. It'll be fun, I promise. Ocean air is good for you."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, come on." Sarah got out of the car and made her way down to the sand, Sydney trailing a few feet behind. Sarah found a good spot to sit, and checked her phone while watching Sydney stand in front of the water. She had a text from Chuck, which was unusual.

**Chuck: What are you guys doing?**

**Sarah: I brought her to the beach.**

**Chuck: Our beach?**

**Sarah: I don't think it's really our beach anymore. She said you're having a rough night, you okay?**

**Chuck: We lost a teenager. Around Syd's age.**

**Sarah: That's tough. You can't save them all.**

**Chuck: Sounds familiar.**

**Sarah: A really great surgeon told me that. He's pretty old now though. Losing steam.**

**Chuck: Very funny. **

**Sarah: :P**

**Chuck: Mind if I join you guys?**

**Sarah: Sure. We'll be here for a while.**

**Chuck: See you soon.**

Sarah looked up to find Sydney standing as still as a statue. She got up and made her way over to the teenager.

"Chuck is going to come join us, is that okay?" She asked. Sydney gave no reply. "Are you okay?" Sarah looked at her daughter, noticing the fear in her eyes. "Hey, you don't have to stand this close."

"I don't want to be afraid."

"But you are. And that's okay, we can go."

"What do you like about it? The beach?"

"Me? I don't know."

"Think."

"I like the water. The salt dries up your skin, but I don't mind it. I like the sound of the waves, too. I think it's because I used to have a CD that I would listen to while I studied for my medical exams. Nature sounds or something like that. I like the smell, the air is so fresh down here."

"I like the waves."

"Yeah?"

"The sound, I mean."

"Well that's a start." Sarah walked closer to the waves, letting them roll over her feet. She stopped once she hit ankle-deep. She closed her eyes and took a breath, remembering the last time she was here.

"She tends to do that." Chuck's voice sounded from behind Sydney.

"What? Go into the water like a crazy person?"

"Not a fan?"

"Not really."

"It's nice once you go in. C'mon." He held out his hand. Sydney looked at it for a moment, taking it slowly.

"Wow, look who decided to brave it."

"Not for long." Sydney mumbled. She stepped back a tiny bit as the water hit her feet.

"You can't fall in, it's sand." Chuck assured her.

"I was a lifeguard, anyway. I'm certified in water safety." Sarah smiled.

"You were a lifeguard?"

"Yeah. In high school."

"I didn't know that."

"You never asked." Sarah looked to the tall brunette man beside her. "You doing okay?"

"I am now."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I know a lot of you are waiting for updates on this story, but I'm losing steam with it. I'm not sure how many more chapters I have left in me, but I'll keep going until my creative juices stop flowing! This chapter is definitely shorter than any other, but I wanted to get it out while I was still awake. Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

**2005**

_Chuck's hands were sweating, his face was hot, and his stomach had a mass of butterflies floating around. He had planned out the night perfectly, knowing every specific thing he would do or say. Dates weren't exactly his strong suit, but he wanted everything to go well for his date with Sarah. He was waiting outside of the hospital, in a nice navy blue button up, dark jeans, and his favorite pair of converse shoes. The gerber daisies in his hands were starting to become heavier with every second he waited. His phone started to buzz, causing him to drop the flowers. He picked them up, not noticing someone walking up to him._

_"Are those for me?" Sarah's voice broke through his nervousness. He grabbed the flowers, and stood up quickly, losing his breath as he looked at the blonde. Her hair was up, probably after a long day at the hospital. She was wearing a dark flowy shirt with flower patterns on it, dark tight leggings, and boot-like heels._

_"Wow." Was all he could get out._

_"What?" She asked._

_"You look...incredible." He smiled, handing her the daisies._

_"Oh please, these are old clothes I leave in my locker just in case." She laughed. "These are beautiful." She held up the flowers._

_"I didn't know what your favorites were. Most women like daisies so that's what I went with."_

_"I do like daisies." She gave him a warm look. "Gardenia's are my favorite, just for future reference."_

_"So I get another chance already, huh?"_

_"We'll see."_

_"Alright, well I guess it's my chance to shine." He led her to his car, opening the passenger side door. "After you."_

_"Should I be worried?"_

_"Definitely not." He replied, hopping into the drivers side. It only took about twenty minutes for him to get to the place he had picked out. They talked the entire way, mostly about their medical backgrounds. _

_"I can't believe your father was Stephen Bartowski. That's just so cool." Sarah gushed._

_"Honestly, it kinda sucked."_

_"How?"_

_"He was never there. For me or Ellie. We had to learn everything for ourselves, he didn't want us to follow in his footsteps."_

_"Usually a surgeon that good tries his hardest to breed more surgeons."_

_"Breed?" Chuck looked at her for a split second._

_"I didn't mean-" She stopped, noticing him laugh. "Great, make fun of me." She said with a smile."_

_"It's a good thing we're here, or this would keep getting more awkward." He joked._

_"Where exactly is here?" Sarah looked out thee window. "It looks desolate."_

_"That's the point." He got out of the car, grabbing things out of the trunk. He came around to her side, and opened her door. "Let's go." He led her to a beach, a small part that was disconnected from the main area._

_"You brought me to the beach? At night?"_

_"Terrible idea?"_

_"No, actually it's perfect." She slid her heels off, letting her feet dig into the sand._

_"You like the beach?" He asked, laying out a blanket and setting down a cooler._

_"I love it." She started walking toward the water. "You coming?"_

_"I think I'll just stay here."_

_"Don't tell me you're scared of the ocean." She teased._

_"As a matter of fact, I am."_

_"Chuck Bartowski. You're a badass surgical intern, you can't be afraid of water!"_

_"There are sharks and...jellyfish." He gulped._

_"Oh c'mon, I'll protect you." She walked up to him and held out her hand. He smiled as he took it, intertwining his fingers with hers._

_"You know, if you wanted to hold my hand, you could've just asked." He said with a smirk._

_"Oh shut up." She laughed. As the water washed over their feet, Chuck felt free. He felt like he could own the world someday._

_"Sarah?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Why did you agree to this date?"_

_"It was a dare."_

_"What?"_

_"I'm kidding." She looked at him. "Because you've got the biggest heart I've ever known, and because I like you. You're a really good guy, and I'm not used to good guys caring about me."_

_"What if I wasn't a good guy?"_

_"There's no chance of that."_

_"Can I ask you another question?"_

_"Sure." She felt him inching closer._

_"Are you ready for that sober kiss?"_

_"You have to ask?" As soon as the last word left her mouth, his lips collided with hers. She felt herself melt into him, relaxing the second their lips touched. Her body fit so well with his. She wrapped her hands around his neck, wanting the moment to last forever._

* * *

After the beach, Sarah invited Chuck back to her place with Sydney. It was nice to spend some time with just the three of them. She couldn't help but think that everyday could've been like this if she had told Chuck and kept Sydney.

"Earth to Sarah." Chuck waved a hand in front of her face. "Extra butter?" They were standing in the kitchen, preparing for a movie.

"Gross, no." She made a face.

"Gross? Sorry, but I think you're outnumbered here."

"Oh am I?"

"Sorry, mom. I like extra butter, too." Sydney called from the living room.

"Fine, then I get final choice on the movie."

"Fine." Chuck playfully sassed.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Always." He put a slice of butter in the microwave.

"Do you think it would've been this way? If I hadn't given her up?"

"You think about that a lot, don't you?"

"Every day."

"I think that we would've had it good. But I also know that we wouldn't be where we are with our careers. We weren't ready."

"I just can't imagine not loving her." Sarah looked toward the living room.

"I know."

"Hurry up, I want to get this started!" Sydney called from the living room. The microwave beeped, and Chuck grabbed the butter.

"You heard her." He motioned to the living room.

"What choices do we have?" Sarah asked as Chuck sat on the couch.

"Die Hard, Bring It On, or Pirates of the Caribbean." Sydney replied.

"Seriously?"

"You asked."

"Fine, we're watching Die Hard. No way am I sitting through that cheerleader crap."

"I love Bring It On. Kirsten Dunst is a gem." Chuck huffed. Sydney and Sarah both laughed at this, sitting on either side of him. Ten inutes into the film, the doorbell rang.

"You expecting someone?" Chuck asked.

"No." Sarah got up from the couch and opened the front door. "Bryce."

"Sorry, I forgot my keys at the hospital." He laughed, obviously intoxicated.

"That's okay. Let's get you to bed, you look...tired." She said, letting her boyfriend lean on her. She was hoping that he'd be too drunk to notice Chuck, but her hopes were shattered the second they got to the living room.

"What're you doing here?" He looked at Chuck.

"We were just watching a movie." Chuck pointed to the television.

"Get out of my house."

"Actually, it's a condo."

"GET OUT!" Bryce yelled.

"Bryce, Chuck can stay here if he wants to. He's here to spend time with Syd."

"Really? You're going to defend him?"

"Yes, because you're being unreasonable."

"Unreasonable?" He laughed. "Unreasonable? No, I've been more than reasonable, but that ends now."

"Bryce-"

"No, for once, I get to talk." He stared Sarah straight in the eyes. "Me or him."

"What?"

"Me. Or. Him."

"You can't ask me to make a choice between the man I love and the father of my child." Sarah pleaded.

"Aren't they the same thing? You've been pining after him ever since you met him, haven't you?"

"You're obviously drunk, just sleep it off."

"Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you don't love him." Bryce said, waiting for her answer.

"I can't." She said after a few minutes.

"Exactly. I'm out of here." Bryce turned around to leave.

"Let me get you a cab or something."

"Sarah, I never want to see you again. Stop trying to help me, I'm not your problem." With that, he left the condo. Sarah stared at the front door, letting everything sink in.

"Well go talk to her." Sydney pushed Chuck towards the door, slinking away to her room. He swallowed hard before reaching her.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I think you should go." She replied, not looking away from the door.

"I can do that."

"What I said-"

"We don't need to talk about it." He cut her off. "Lou is probably waiting for me anyway."

"Right."

"Call me if you need me to take Syd, okay?"

"Sure." She moved out of the way, letting him grab his things. "I meant what I said." She blurted as he was half way out the door.

"I know." He nodded, closing the door behind him. Sarah had just lost both of the men she loved, and now she had no one.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Well, this is the chapter I've been waiting to write since I first started this story. I hope I did it justice! I'll start adding more flashbacks to the story I think, because there's a lot in the backstory that leads up to all of this. Like I always say, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! I cherish all of my fans to death! Enjoy this chapter of The Unexpected :)**

**-Charahfan44**

* * *

Work wasn't fun after the situation with Bryce had happened. Even outside of work, she couldn't get him to talk to her. She wanted to explain herself, she wanted to tell him why she felt the way she did. But, he wouldn't let her, no matter how hard she tried.

"Can I get the chart for room 215?" Bryce stood at the fourth floor nurses station. Sarah took a deep breath in before pursuing him.

"Are you going to avoid me forever?" She asked.

"That's the plan." He grabbed the chart and walked away.

"You're going to have to talk to me eventually!" She called after him.

"What's up with that?" Zondra appeared at her side.

"Lots." Sarah grabbed a chart from the nurses station and walked away.

"Care to explain?" The brunette followed her.

"Not really."

"Sarah."

"I think we broke up last night."

"You think?"

"I sort of told him I still loved Chuck."

"Sort of?"

"It's complicated."

"You don't say."

"Oh shut up." Sarah shook her head playfully. "I'm just confused."

"No you're not, you've been in love with Chuck since we started."

"But-"

"No 'but's'." Zondra raised her eyebrow. "You need to stop lying to yourself, or you're going to keep hurting people."

"I hate you for knowing me better than I know myself."

"That's what best friends are for." Zondra smiled. "What do you have today?"

"Valve replacement. You?"

"Whipple." Zondra smirked.

"Lucky."

"Always!"

* * *

It was hard for Chuck to focus on anything at work. It had only been a few days since Sarah had basically confessed her love for him, and it kept his brain working non-stop.

"There you are." Lou's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I haven't heard from you in days." She kissed him, looking at his full plate of food.

"Yeah, uh, it's been insane." He smiled quickly.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He felt his pulse quicken with insincerity.

"They haven't had cherry Jell-O in weeks and you've barely touched yours." She nodded to his tray.

"I just have a lot on my mind is all."

"I can see that." She laughed. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I gotta go." He grabbed his tray and walked briskly out of the cafeteria.

"Whoa, someone's in a hurry." Ellie said as Chuck ran into her.

"Sorry, El." He brushed his lab coat.

"You okay?"

"Not really."

"What's up?"

"Sarah."

"Ah." She nodded. "I think you should start thinking about letting it go."

"That's the thing, I was."

"What changed?"

"She told me she loved me." He sighed. "Well, technically she just couldn't tell Bryce she _didn't_ love me, but still."

"Wait, she what?" Ellie stopped in her tracks.

"It's a long story." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, a long story that you're going to explain to your sister." She huffed.

"Can I explain it to you later? I have an appendectomy to get to before this kid's appendix bursts."

"Fine, but I will search you out." She watched him walk away. "Don't think I won't!"

* * *

**2005**

_Sarah woke up to the sounds of waves crashing against the shore, a sound that she realized shouldn't be heard._

_"Chuck!" She exclaimed, getting up from the sand._

_"What? What, I'm up." He scrambled, following suit._

_"We slept here all night!" Sarah grabbed her shoes, struggling to put them on._

_"Okay?"_

_"We're going to be late for rounds." She put her face in her hands. "God, I knew this was a bad idea."_

_"Glad you think so."_

_"I'm sorry, I just can't fall behind everyone else. I have to become the best surgeon in the world, and I won't do that by cuddling with some guy on a beach." She sighed._

_"Some guy?" Chuck looked at her, obviously hurt._

_"I didn't mean it like that." She apologized._

_"Yeah, whatever. Let's go." He walked back to the car. Sarah frowned at herself, trying to figure out why she was unable to open up to someone who obviously cared about more than her looks._

_"I'm sorry." She said again, getting into the car._

_"We don't have to talk, don't worry." She shifted the car into gear and drove them back to the hospital. He didn't talk to her once they got there, which is what she expected to happen. Everyone gave them weird looks as they showed up together, but didn't ask questions._

_"How was it?" Zondra whispered in Sarah's ear._

_"Not now." Sarah replied._

_"Walker, do you have something to add?" Ellie asked._

_"No, sorry." She looked down._

_"I want you to oversee Mr. Holland's case. Tend to his every need, got it?" Ellie handed the elderly patient's chart to Sarah._

_"Got it." Sarah nodded._

_"Alright, the rest of you come with me." Ellie led the group of interns to the next room._

_"I'm not a very exciting case, I'm sorry." Mr. Holland laughed._

_"Too bad, I only take the good ones." Sarah smiled back. "Mr. Holland, it says here that you're at a high risk for blood clots?"_

_"Please, call me John."_

_"Alright, John, we're going to keep an extra close eye on you." She said, overlooking his chart. _

_"Ellie sent me to make sure the history of stroke is in his chart." Chuck entered the room, avoiding eye contact with Sarah._

_"Yeah, it's here." She replied. "Can we talk?"_

_"Can't." He was gone as soon as he had entered._

_"Boyfriend?" John asked._

_"Not that it's any of your business, but no." She raised an eyebrow at the old man._

_"Sure seems like a boyfriend."_

_"He wants to be."_

_"But you don't want him to be? Seems like a nice fellow."_

_"You just worry about that heart of yours." Sarah laughed. "I'll worry about my boy issues."_

* * *

Chuck hadn't allowed himself a moment to breathe all day. His mind was focused on one thing, and as soon as his shift was up, he acted on it.

"Lou, can I talk to you for a second?" He found his girlfriend on the fifth floor.

"Sure." She smiled. "Are you ready to tell me what's actually on your mind?"

"Yes."

"Great, let's hear it." She folded her arms, ready to listen.

"We need to break up." He frowned.

"What?"

"You're an amazing woman, really, but-"

"Don't you dare say something about Sarah Walker." The anger in her eyes dominated the hurt.

"Lou," Chuck took a breath in, "I can't lie to you. I love her."

"I thought you loved me."

"I do." He made sure to look into her eyes. "Just not enough, I'm sorry." With that, he took off. It only took him about half an hour to arrive at Sarah's door, unsure if she was even home. But he didn't care, he had to speak to her. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and knocked.

"Just a second!" He heard her call. "Chuck?" She answered the door, her face squinting with confusion.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi." She repeated his word. "What're you doing here? Syd is at a friend's house tonight."

"Sure." He nodded.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"You know, people keep asking me that today." He laughed.

"Probably because you look like your mind is working too hard." Her smile made his heart race.

"Do you want the honest answer?" He asked.

"Probably not, but give it to me anyway." She laughed back.

"I'm not okay." He stared at her intently. "Because a few days ago, I realized I made a mistake."

"What did you do?"

"I let you go." The words left his mouth with ease. "I let you get away, and it ruined my life."

"Chuck-"

"No, I need to say it." He put a hand up.

"It's too late." She looked down.

"No, it isn't." He tilted her chin to look at him. "Because you told me you loved me. Without even really saying it, you said it."

"Just because I couldn't tell Bryce that I didn't love you doesn't mean that I do." She frowned slightly. "You think you ruined your own life? I don't think you'll ever truly realize what you did to mine."

"And I can't ever apologize enough for it. I can't make you trust me or love me or want to be with me. But, I know you do. You can try to fight it all you want, Sarah, but you do." He pleaded.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can." He inched closer. "You can."

"Don't." Was the only word that escaped her mouth. She could feel what he was about to do, but her body wouldn't allow her to stop him. He leaned his head in, resting it against hers.

"I have always loved you." He whispered, before kissing her softly. She stopped herself from kissing him back, pushing away.

"Please," She said softly, "Don't put me through this again."

"I promise you, if you give me another chance, I will not leave." He caught her gaze. "I will make it up to you every day. You mean everything to me, Sarah Walker, and I'm so sorry I ever made you think otherwise." The sadness in his eyes was sincere. She could feel the pain he felt. She thought for a moment, trying so hard to not give in to him.

"I forgive you." She whispered, leading him inside the loft. He kissed her again, this time more fiercely. She reciprocated, unbuttoning his shirt as she did so.

"Wait, wait," He stopped for a moment, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Maybe we shouldn't."

"You're probably right." She agreed, taking a breath.

"It's not that I don't want to, because I do. Trust me, I so do." He smiled.

"I know." She smiled back, placing a hand on his face.

"I don't want to rush things with you."

"You mean besides having a kid?"

"Besides that." They both enjoyed the laugh. "I want to get it right this time."

"Me too."

"So, I'm going to button my shirt and leave." He convinced himself.

"Okay." Sarah agreed.

"Right, so I'm gonna go." His feet stayed planted in the same spot.

"You should go." The room seemed to slow down. Neither of them moved, they stayed staring at each other. Before she knew it, she was slowly sliding his shirt off his shoulders.

"Or I could stay." Chuck breathed, helping Sarah's shirt over her head. He looked her over, his eyes remembering every inch.

"Stay." One sultry look from her, and it was over. The two collided together like magnets, not even making it to the bedroom. They spent hours laying on the floor of the living room, talking and laughing.

"This is probably a bad idea." Chuck looked at Sarah, her head resting on his chest.

"Probably?" She gave a small laugh.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, though."

"Ditto."

"We should keep this to ourselves for a while, right?"

"Definitely. We especially can't tell Sydney."

"We've already damaged her enough." He laughed.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked. "And I want the truth."

"Always."

"Am I a good mom?"

"What? Of course you are." He looked at her intently.

"I still haven't forgiven myself, and sometimes I think I don't try hard enough to make it up to her."

"You're kidding, right? Sarah, you've done nothing but bend over backwards for her ever since she came back into our lives."

"But I'm supposed to do that, I'm her mother."

"Exactly. There. That's what makes you a great mom, you care."

"I suppose you're right." She listened to the sound of his heartbeat against her ear. "You'll stay tonight?"

"You thought we were done? Wow, doesn't take much." He joked.

"Shut up." She smacked him playfully. "This is going to get us into so much trouble, isn't it?"

"Definitely."


End file.
